Full Moon Rising
by MavsGirl22
Summary: Some say the world will end in fire; Some say in ice." In the years that have passed since Ozai's fall the world is healing, is recovering, but it is not peaceful. A new threat is on the horizon and I fear the unknown. My love is my greatest weapon. KxA
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Well, I've been trying to get out a post-war fic since I saw the finale, and I wish I could say that I've been working on this the entire time. No, actually I wrote this in about a week, I've just had a hard time knowing what to write! This will be the first multi-chaptere first person story I have written, and it was rather enjoyable to write thus far!! I'm writing it from Katara's point of view because I realized that being in love with the Avatar must be very trying and amazing at the same time. I think she has a wonderful story to tell post-war, and I hope that I can portray what I want to with this fic. I began with Robert Frosts' "Fire and Ice" becuase it's one of my favoraite poems and it's theme is very central to this story. I hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to review!!

**Disclaimer: **The characters protrayed do not belong to me, of course. They belong to Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The poem is Robert Frosts', as menioned earlier.

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_Some say the world will end in fire;_

_Some say in ice._

_From what I've tasted of desire_

_I hold with those who favor fire._

_But if it had to perish twice,_

_I think I know enough of hate_

_To say that for destruction ice_

_Is also great_

_And would suffice._

**.1.**

**For What Has Passed, My Love, Is Now Spoken**

To this day, there aren't many things that I enjoy about being in the Fire Nation capital city.

It is still difficult to walk through the long wide corridors of the royal palace and not be reminded of the fearful persecutor that once wreaked havoc on the world from his ominous throne room of flames and retribution. The hallways are lined with heavy red curtains, and golden tie backs, I am sure, hide the scorch marks I know must still be there… All these years of so called "peace" have done little to ease such thoughts and worries, and I still have nightmares of failure that some might label as senseless.

Then, of course, there is the heat, always sweltering and vice-like in its tenacity. One might try to ignore the little sweat beads that sprout the very second the sun is high enough in the sky to break through the eastern windows of the palace. But such practices are futile as the humidity fogs the very air that we breathe. And of course, we must never forget the inexhaustible fires that burn in every golden urn and statuesque candelabra throughout the royal city. These small infernos only add to the stifling heat that is the Fire Nation.

And just my simple presence in the royal palace almost always means that there is some type of political hype to oversee, or a peace treaty to revise, or a world conference to watch over. Up until this point, I've attended more of these meetings than I care to think about in the four years since the world had been ripped back from the hands of Ozai. In the beginning I went to these events with the world's best interest in mind, excited and ready to start rebuilding after a hundred years of fighting.

But the bureaucratic ramblings and unnecessarily long debates quickly clouded such intentions. More than once my quick temper and "loud mouth" – as a noble man from the Earth Kingdom capital had once put it, right before I froze his own mouth shut – have gotten me an early dismissal. Aang had asked me politely – always the perfect gentleman – and rather promptly that I now attend only the most important meetings, and leave the more trivial time consuming matters for him to deal with alone…

Funny, how the division of crop profits for Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom could take so long to divvy up, yet the decision to allow the colonists to stay in Earth Kingdom territory in the first place had only taken two days….So of course I get my fair share of alone time, as Aang attends and supervises these various meetings – some that last all day, if not all week. In fact, I can owe my solitude to one such meeting this very moment.

However, much to my chagrin – I'd much rather be in the alabaster temple of the Southern Air nomads than sitting in this too-red bath chamber – there are a few constructive, if not positive, aspects to being here.

Alone in my bath camber, I allowed my mind to wander with images of Aang shiftless and perspiring in the midday heat, of bath oils and luxurious linens found no where else on earth, and of lazy days spent reading and lounging at the fountains.

I smiled. Maybe the next week here wouldn't be as bad as I feared. Soon enough we will be at home again among the mountainous terrain and fresh open breezes that smell of evergreens and Spring. Besides, I don't get to have bubble baths at the Southern Air temple….

My smile deepened contently and I closed my eyes as I sunk deeper into the bath water, letting the little suds cover my ears so that my mind was filled with their popping and sizzling against my skin. It was easy to get lost in these tiny air pockets.

With a motion that was second nature to me always, I twirled my fingers under the water, bending little currents that swirled around the tub in a circular motion. My makeshift whirlpool soothed my muscles that were still weary from traveling the previous day.

Aang would be in the counsel meeting until after dark, he had said, and I didn't plan on getting to see him again until the morning. It was upsetting – even now it is still hard to be away from him for any length of time – but I had decided I would make the best of my solitude. So, I would spend my alone time soaking in the tub, followed by dinner in bed, and then reading myself to sleep from one of the royal library's hundreds of novels I'd found earlier that afternoon. Far from a perfect evening – how can anything be without his company? – but it would suffice…

Just then, a knock from the door in the adjoining bedchamber startled me. I opened my eyes, contemplating answering it. But then quickly decided against it… Sure that the knock was the servant from the kitchen, ready to prepare my meal, I groaned and sunk deeper into the water's warmth. I had no intentions of ending my bath early.

When a second set of knocks came from the door, I sank deeper. "Go away," I muttered into the water, causing little bubbles to froth around my mouth.

My ears, at this point, were now under the water – along with everything else – so the third set of knocks was muffled and muted and sounded more like a deep bass drum than knuckles rapping against a mahogany door. I associated the sound with the tribal drums I had grown up with in the Southern Water Tribe, and it almost made me homesick when the third set of knocks was not followed by a fourth.

Several long seconds passed with me still submerged completely under the water and bubbles. I had grown so accustomed to my element that I had learned to suppress my need for _air _almost without realizing it. I suppose it should be second nature to Master Waterbenders to be able to ignore the flame of hypoxia, but it never seems like it's just my lungs that are burning. My entire body seems to be on fire when I deprive myself of _air _for too long, and even I can see the poetic beauty in the intense hunger I feel in its absence.

I was contemplating the burning sensation that was pooling in my chest and filling my stomach and limbs, when the distinct sound of a familiar pair of footsteps registered in the back of my mind. The burning paused – perhaps receding just slightly – and my eyes popped open into the water at the realization of _who _it had been that was knocking on my door. The footsteps played across the stony bathroom tile and then froze in place only a few inches into the room.

"Katara?!"

Even through the water I could hear the surprise and anxiety in his voice as everything else in the large bathroom was completely silent. I was sure if I listened hard enough, I could hear his heart about to hammer its way out of his chest.

Within the span of a few seconds my mind scrambled around a dozen possible ways to handle the situation. Should I pretend that I had drown? Or just stay under the water until he went away or I really _did _drown? Maybe I should burst from the water and allow my overactive temper to remind him that he was supposed to be in a meeting and how dare he walk in on me like this! Or would his own guilt and embarrassment be more punishment than even I could serve?

Succumbing to the more-than-awkward situation at hand, I allowed the blood pulsing through my veins to stain itself across my cheeks as I peeked my head up from the water just enough to make eye contact. Immediately, the air rushed into my lungs, my body, along with his smell and I felt entirely intoxicated. His presence pervaded my senses and despite the circumstances, I was happy to see him, as always. However, I'd never been so thankful for the millions of bubbles that foamed across the surface of the water, obscuring my naked body that lay motionless beneath.

Truthfully, the bubbles weren't even needed, as his tattooed hands had found their way to his eyes. He stiffened like a board when I finally managed to calm myself enough to mouth an appropriate greeting.

"Hey, Aang."

"Ka-Katara…" Aang stammered as the crimson across his cheeks began spreading beneath his fingers, down his throat and across his shoulders. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know you would be… be… like this!" He seemed rooted to the spot just inside the bathroom door, as if his muscles would no longer respond to his commands to leave me in privacy.

Oddly enough, I found myself to be rather calm and collected. Strange, considering _I_ was the one who was naked and he was definitely fully clothed… He trembled slightly and his hand was so tight across his eyes that his knuckles were turning white.

At this point, I realized that I was smiling, "Uou were supposed to be in that meeting all evening so I thought you were a servant knocking. If I'd have known it was you, I would have answered the door." Suddenly, I realized what I'd said and flushed a brighter shade of red than him – if possible. "Well I mean I would have put on clothes first and _then _answered the door, obviously!" I laughed nervously.

The corners of Aang's mouth finally began pulling into a smile and his posture relaxed, if just a little, at the causality of my tone and my fake laugh. It was as if he'd been fearing my reaction to his sudden intrusion.

"We uh, took a break to eat," he explained quickly. "Some of the nobleman from Ba Sing Se were disagreeing with Zuko's suggestion for a flat tax rate across the Earth Kingdom. It was getting a little out of hand, so we're reconvening after dinner."

Typical. I rolled my eyes, annoyed, yet grateful at the same time that I hadn't had to sit through hours of that. "So they still think it's fair to tax the Fire Nation colonists higher?"

Aang shrugged his shoulders as he pulled a towel from the nearby rack and extended it in my direction, his other hand still planted firmly over his eyes. "Seems that way…" he answered while bending down, as if to rest the towel on the floor near the tub.

I couldn't help myself. Aang had heard me vent on several occasions about the unfairness in the dealings that had followed Zuko's rise to the throne, but each time a new issue arose that was clearly punishing innocent people, I would express my extreme displease in such transactions. This one, it seemed, was no exception.

"When are they going to stop punishing innocent people for something one maniac started a hundred years ago?" I erupted. "It's just a bunch of childish games. Everyone says they want you to restore balance to the world, but when it comes right down to it, all they want is money and power! Is this what they expect from you? To help them claw their way to the top?" I growled, my face red at this point for an entirely different reason than it had been only seconds ago

I continued rambling about how peace wasn't peace if innocent people were still suffering, as I reflexively reached for the towel in Aang's hand. I realized that he'd recoiled slightly, not in horror but in surprise, and I suddenly found myself _standing_ in the tub rather than pinned safely beneath the obscurity of the bubbles. I'd been so caught up in my fervor to help these people by yelling at thin air about their unjust suffering, that I had completely forgotten where I was and who was with me. Water cascaded down my exposed skin and fell to the bath with little _plinks _and _plunks _and all at once I felt the blood drain from my face, only to rush back in the deepest blush I'm sure I'd ever had. I felt dizzy.

Aang stiffened in mid-crouch, the towel still clutched in his fist as the hand obscuring his closed eyes tightened across his face. "Katara?" he asked with a squeakiness in his voice that I hadn't heard in a long time. "Don't you want me to leave before you get out?"

My pulse quickened rapidly as I struggled to grasp the gravity of the situation. My mind scrambled to fathom the fact that I was standing completely naked only a few feet away from my all-too-gentlemanly, much-too-innocent, and entirely-too-handsome boyfriend. I knew I should feel panic, embarrassment, and in the least regret. But all I felt was safe.

I knew Aang better than I probably knew myself. I knew that he was unlike any man I had ever met and will ever meet in this lifetime or any other. I knew that he had only my honor and virtue in his best interest and I knew that he'd never overstep any boundary until I helped him cross it myself. I knew that he wouldn't look unless he knew I wanted him to.

I released a relaxed breath and reached for the towel that he was holding onto for dear life. "Aang…" I stepped over the tub and almost had one toe on the tile floor before Aang loudly cleared his throat, thrust the towel into my unsuspecting hands, and jolted for the bathroom door.

"Katara, I'll just wait for you in the other room," he said hurriedly, yet somehow still with the smoothness I'd come to know from his post-pubescent voice. I could swear I heard a low groan and a rushed sigh escape his lips before he left the tile floor and closed the door abruptly behind him.

I considered his reaction strange, until I remembered that four years ago, when Aang had mastered earthbending, Toph had taught him successfully how to "see" the way she did, using vibrations from the earth to form shapes and images. I paused, and tapped my toe a few times on the hard marble-tiled floor as my eyes traveled to the door where the tile turned to plush carpeting. He wouldn't look unless he knew I wanted him to…

I pushed the obscure thought aside and scurried about the bathroom, pulling a comb through my hair before slipping into the dark blue nightgown that reminded me of home and then throwing on the contrasting crimson silk robe that came with the room. The sash was bright gold, not surprisingly, and I quickly tied a knot with it around my waist as I took one last glimpse in the mirror over the vanity.

I noted, with a sad smile, that the older I got, the more I looked like my mother. Sokka had said once that when he closed his eyes and tried to picture our mother's face, it was my face that he saw. Well, now that my hair had grown darker, my lips fuller, my eyes brighter, my jaw sharper, and my brow straighter, our faces seemed one in the same. My body had also grown, so as not to be outdone by my face. My hips had grown broader, my chest had – I think "blossomed" was the word Gran Gran had used -, and my legs had lengthened. I knew I had become the perfect image of my beautiful dead mother, which made it very difficult to look in the mirror at times.

With a reassuring breath, I adjusted the neckline of my robe and ducked out the door to meet Aang in the adjoining room. I hoped the red in the silk wouldn't accentuate the blood that was still trapped in my cheeks. Maybe Aang would just assume it was from the heat of the bath water…

He greeted me with a quiet sheepish smile. "Hey…"

I attempted to smile back – no need to make things any more awkward than they already were – though I was sure it wasn't too convincing. "Hey…"

"I uh…" he hesitated as if trying very hard to find the right words. "Sorry about… that. I should have left when you didn't answer the door."

"Aang, don't worry about it," I answered truthfully. "It's no big deal. Really…I trust you."

"You're not mad?" he asked surprisingly, genuinely.

"No," I answered, rather shocked. "Why would I be?"

He didn't answer right away. Just cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows scrunched over his grey eyes – they were always darker whenever he was thinking hard about something – and studied me silently for what seemed like a very long time.

I smiled anxiously and played with the ends of my wet hair – an act Aang once told me I only did when I was nervous or acting self-conscious. "What?"

His sudden grin – the first _real _full smile I'd seen from him all evening – surprised me. "Nothing. I just wish I could hear what was going in that beautiful head of yours sometimes."

I could feel the anxiety suddenly lift from the room. His eyes lightened to their usual stormy color and he stood from the armchair he'd been waiting in.

"I guess you'll just have to rely on my interpretations then," I answered as he crossed the room.

I met him halfway and we embraced. The strength in his hug and the way my head fit perfectly in the crook just under his chin never ceased to surprise me. He'd grown so much over the five years we'd known each other.

"I missed you today," I said into his chest, breathing past the scent of tobacco and wine – though he didn't partake in either, these meetings seemed to always be saturated by such scents – and smelling the sweet smell of sandalwood and breeze that could only be described as "Aang".

One of his hands traced the small of my back while he pulled the fingers of his other hand through my wet hair, "I know. I missed you too." He kissed the top of my head before responding quietly, "I'm sorry…"

I pulled out of his embrace barely, just enough so that I could look up to read the expression on his face. "_Now_ what you are apologizing for?" I asked playfully.

He looked torn. "I keep dragging you to all these meetings. I know how much you hate them." The hand that had been in my hair was now tucking stray hairs behind my left ear. "It just seems like we never really get any time anymore, does it?"

I smiled, trying to lighten his mood. "Aang, when have we ever gotten any time? If it's not been a war to win, it's a rebellion to take care of, or a conference to attend, or a town to save." I laughed lightly, fondly at the memories we'd made together saving the world.

However, my response got the opposite reaction I'd been hoping for. His frown deepened. "I know… I'm sorry Katara." He paused, sighed, and got a distant look in his eyes. "You deserve more."

I had never really given much thought to the lifestyle I had chosen the second I'd realized my feelings for Aang. The only thought I can remember processing at the time was the intense love and affection I'd felt for the young boy that I'd spent a year with fighting for the world's freedom. I loved Aang, more than any one person had loved another, and the ramifications of falling in love with _the Avatar_ had never crossed my mind.

Perhaps, had we lived in another era – a time of peace and prosperity, instead of war and repair – our lives would be easier. But, as it were, the Avatar's role was one of leadership, diplomacy, and liberation. He lived his life in constant servitude to the healing world around him. To outside eyes, it may seem the world's needs outweighed those of the Waterbender he fell in love with.

But, I knew better. In Aang's eyes – _the Avatar's_ eyes – my needs were just as important, if not more so. Which was why I'd had such difficulty allowing Aang, and myself for that matter, know how deep my feelings truly ran for him until I was sure his destiny to end the century of fighting had been fulfilled.

Oh how naïve I had been… To think that taking down Ozai and pushing Zuko into his place as Fire Lord would solve all our problems… To think that the fighting was over… To think Aang's duties had been fulfilled at the age of thirteen… To think we could return the world to any semblance of peaceful in such a short time, after it had been divided for so long…

This was the war-stricken world we lived in. It was healing, true, and every day brought it one step closer to a full recovery. But I realized that we'd be lucky to see it truly peaceful again in our lifetime. Well… _my _lifetime. The Avatar, of course, is immortal.

I looked at him, trying desperately to gauge the distant look in his eyes. I hesitantly brought my hands to his face, resting one palm on each cheek, forcing him to look at me. "Aang, you are more than I will ever deserve," I whispered with as much resolve as I could muster. "Don't ever forget that."

His eyes found their way back to mine, and they lightened somewhat as he smiled sadly at me. "I wish you could really believe that," he answered with his sad smile.

I opened my mouth to object, somewhat hurt that he'd turned my declaration against me. But, before I could mouth the words, a set of knocks resounded from that blasted chamber door. I kept my eyes on Aang's face that was still pinned between my palms, but his gaze went to the door instantly and I deflated like a popped balloon as he pulled my hands from his face – first the left, then the right, each with a kiss to the palm before dropping them softly – and walked towards the door.

Of course, it was the servant. He was pushing an oversized cart full of various meats and cheeses and fruits, all piled onto porcelain plates that were always too delicate for my tastes. I scrunched my nose at the fact the he'd chosen such an intimate moment to interrupt, but my stomach protested, growling that now was as good a time as any.

Aang motioned into the room, stepping aside so the servant could push his little cart of goodies through the door. "Looks like your dinner is here," he announced to me with a smile. He inhaled deeply, "And it smells awful," he added with a playful grin as he eyed the assortment of meats on the top tray.

I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. I didn't think I'd have the enjoyment of your company for dinner this evening."

He shook his head. "It's no problem at all."

Despite Aang's objection, I asked the servant to take the tray of meats and set it in the hall. Which he did with an annoyed look on his face, no doubt that particular arrangement had taken the most effort and time to assemble. I apologized for the inconvenience, explaining that it was the Avatar's practice to not eat meat and I would therefore never cause him discomfort by partaking of meat in his presence. He shuffled nervously when I suggested, "Would you?"

"No, My Lady!" the servant answered quickly. "Avatar Aang, my apologies!"

Aang waved a dismissive hand and allowed the servant to return his tray of meats to the kitchen, stating "The Avatar will be Master Katara's only company for dinner tonight and we don't require any further services."

The servant bowed respectfully and was out the door in record time.

Aang chuckled as he wheeled the cart to the small balcony off my room that overlooked one of the many gardens in the Palace. It seemed, for the moment at least, he'd returned to his old self again.

We ate, for the most part, in silence. The air around us was still and I drank in his presence as much I did the wine that accompanied my dinner. Aang had never allowed himself to indulge in the frivolities of alcohol, but I had grown up in a tribal village where the adults in my tribe regularly partook in such delicacies as a sort of coming into adulthood. When Sokka and I had first returned home after our year of traveling with the Avatar, a huge celebration had commenced, not only to celebrate the end of the war and our homecoming, but our maturity as well. I found that I enjoyed the bitter liquid that had been passed around the bonfires so urgently, and soon my tastes had expanded to all sorts of exotic wines and liquors. The Fire Nation, I had discovered, had the most bold and pungent flavors of wines from very red to almost burgundy. It was, perhaps, my most favorite part of the Royal City.

With each sip, my eyes grew more and more heavy. When half of the golden decanter was gone, I raised my empty glass, inspecting the dark ring the wine had left along the lip, before setting it lightly on the table. My mind was at perfect stillness and my body in absolute relaxation. I could hear Aang's gentle breathing beside me as he too enjoyed the quiet moment.

But, as always, the moment didn't last. Soon enough he was standing up and muttering how much he was dreading going back to that wretched meeting.

"I wish you'd just take a break," I murmured as he bent down to sooth my hair and kiss the top of my head.

"Soon enough," he answered quietly. "I promise we'll get away for a while after this one." He paused and brought my face up to his, his sweet breath washing over my face as he added, "Just you and me."

In that moment, he brought his lips to mine and every nerve ending became a live wire inside of me. He moved his lips against mine and I melted into his hands as he grasped the sides of my face in the exact manner I had held his earlier. I moved my hands to his shoulders, his neck, his head, and ran my fingers along his bald scalp, feeling the smoothness of his perfect skin under my touch. Kissing Aang was like filling up with the sweetest air, and it never left me out of breath. I could breathe in his kisses for eternity and never feel the burn of hypoxia. His presence was my sustenance and his lips my life source.

Before I was ready for him to, he pulled away, breathless and smiling. It seemed that as I was floating on his air life kisses, he was drowning in mine. I smiled at the irony.

"I love you, Katara," he whispered huskily, still breathless. "I love you more than you'll ever know."

I smiled. "I love you too," I whispered back before leaning up to kiss the tip of the arrow on his head softly. "Always will... I'll see you in the morning?"

He smiled back – "Of course" – before pulling my hands from his neck and kissing my knuckles.

And just like that he was gone. The sound of the door closing behind him made it so, and I sat on the balcony for a few more minutes to enjoy the breeze before going back inside, my lungs still filled with his air life kisses.

I curled up in the silks of my bedding and read by candle light until the wick was too dim to illuminate the characters any more. When the flame finally extinguished itself in its own wax, I was drifting somewhere in the realm of not yet asleep, but not fully awake.

"_You deserve more" _he had said. Had I known the profound depth in his words, perhaps I would have understood them better. But, as it were, I fell asleep that night to dreams of dancing under the stars to the music of Aang's voice whispering his love for me.

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**A/N: **I think, actually I know, that this is the longest chapter I've ever written. And I've gotta say, I think it's one of the best. I look forward to where Katara's story goes from here, becuase honestly the details are sketchy to even me at this point!! I hope to get some useful, if not encouraging, reviews!!


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke the next morning to the sound of raindrops pelting against the large windows that bordered my room

**A/N: **So, here's the next installment of Full Moon Rising! I had fun writing this chapter! I hope that I've steered away from the "Twilight" feel that some of my reviewers got with my first chapter. This is certainly not a vampire fic, and I hope that it seems more original now! Thanks for reading!

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**.2.**

**It is Futile, my friend, to Resist**

I awoke the next morning to the sound of raindrops pelting against the large windows that bordered my room. For several moments I lay in bed, listening to the soft pitter patter. The sky outside was grey and misty, making the crimson walls around me seem warm and inviting. I suddenly realized that it was the first time I could ever remember seeing a rain shower in the Fire Nation.

A dull headache was brewing behind my eyes – secondary to either the half decanter of wine I had consumed at dinner, or the tossing and turning I'd done all night to nightmares I couldn't remember (most likely both) – and I rubbed at my temples, trying to subdue the throbbing.

I went through my morning routine with this incessant headache, dressing and grooming to the throbbing of my own pulse. I fussed with my hair, braiding it and then piling it on top of my head to keep it off the back of my neck, but I never felt I was "done up" enough to be parading around a palace. I ignored the silks and satins that adorned the closet in my room, and chose, instead, a simple red kimono I'd found in one of the town shops along the navy docks. The thin material it was made of was much cooler that some the heavier fabrics the palace provided. Some what satisfied with my appearance, I began making my way to the dining hall, eager to see Aang.

As I navigated the wide hallways to the dining room, I tried not to think about how the palace must have looked before Zuko had defeated his sister for the throne four years earlier. He had spent almost a full year reorganizing his government, re-teaching his military, and revamping his palace. The dark ominous feeling was lifted from the walls of this place with a fresh coat of paint and decorations.

The throne room that Ozai had ruled from was perhaps the most drastic change. No longer was it lined in flames and empty columns, giving the impression that if the Fire Lord was displeased with you, he could burn you to a crisp without anyone realizing it. It was now open, with wide balcony windows that overlooked the great Royal City. The flames were completely gone, and Zuko had the throne itself redone so that it sat eye level with the rest of the room, no longer on a pedestal.

He had said that he wanted his people to feel that their Fire Lord understood the importance of being approachable. For so long he'd lived with the fact that his appearance struck fear into the heart of the world, it was nice to see him loved so much by not only his people, but the other nations as well. The new palace had finally been unveiled two and half years ago during the Fire Lord's wedding.

I smiled, remembering the day fondly. It'd been such a happy moment, watching Zuko and Mai exchange vows under the cherry blossom trees in the Royal garden. They'd both looked so completely blissful, which had once been such a rare occasion for Mai. I still remember my first impression of the dark moody girl I'd met during our early travels to free the world. She'd seemed so… apathetic. Not caring one way or the other about anything in particular.

But the first time I saw her and Zuko together, I knew that she'd changed for him just as much as Zuko had changed for his country. There was no mistaking the love she felt for my friend. That became abundantly clear when I learned about her sacrifice to save Zuko when he and Sokka were at the Boiling Rock. And in the years that passed, we grew closer as Aang and Zuko worked fervently together to rebuild the Fire Nation. I was happy to call Mai one of my closest friends.

I realized that I'd made it to the dining room, but the long table that we usually shared meals at was surprisingly empty. Iroh and Mai sat at the end of the table we only occupied when it was just the five of us, but Zuko and Aang were no where to be seen. I sighed in disappointment.

"Ah, Katara," Iroh spoke first, standing up to give me a hug. "Good morning!"

"Good morning, Iroh." I answered as I returned his hug with a smile I couldn't help but use every time I saw the old man. Iroh always had a way of making me forget that I was upset about something.

"You look beautiful as always. Please, sit and have some tea and breakfast." He pulled away and reclaimed his seat in front of the mound of food he'd been working on when I came in.

I turned my attention to Mai, and she simply gave me a small smile in greeting before returning to her own plate of fruits and breads. I took the seat next to her and before I'd even had the chance to speak, a servant was pouring me a cup of tea while another one was placing a plate of food in front of me.

"Thank you," I told the servants, and they bowed respectfully before disappearing just as quickly as they'd materialized.

I stirred my tea, blowing the seam from the rim of my cup before sipping on it cautiously. The warm liquid seared the back of my throat, but the aroma of jasmine and honey instantly helped ease the headache that was still pulsing behind my eyes.

"So I guess Zuko and Aang worked through the night again?" I asked after my throat felt useful to me again. It wasn't unusual for some of these meetings to last well into the early hours of the morning, meaning that they were probably still sleeping. I cut a piece of mango and ate.

"Oh," Mai paused with her fork midair, "You didn't know?"

"Know what?" I asked after swallowing.

Mai turned to Iroh with an expression that I couldn't see. Apparently she'd silently asked him to be the bearer of news.

Iroh turned to me with apologetic eyes, his mouth construed into a frown that wasn't becoming of him. "My nephew and the young Avatar were called away last night, Katara," Iroh explained. "It seems the Resistance set fire to some our Navy ships that were docked in the Royal Shipyard."

"Oh."

Mai turned back to me and I couldn't miss that she looked exactly as I felt… left behind. "It was only a small uprising this time," she said passively. "Only two ships."

I could tell that she was trying to convince me – and probably herself, too – that it was small enough that our boys could handle it without our help. I wasn't convinced – as I'm sure she wasn't either, judging by the set of her jaw. I'd seen a lot of these things get out of hand. It was always dangerous, no matter how insignificant it seemed.

Mai frowned, "Aang didn't leave you a note?"

"A note?"

"…telling you where he'd gone?" Her frown deepened. "That's strange."

I left my fork on my plate, forgotten for the time being. "Maybe he did and I just didn't notice it," I answered, remembering how I'd gotten dressing earlier with the thudding headache, which had become a dull pulse now. I picked my fork back up and cut another piece of fruit. "I'm sure he did," I said resolvedly before popping the morsel in my mouth.

Mai nodded a few times, understanding my need to believe Aang hadn't feared leaving me the note because he knew that if I'd waken up while he was there I would have insisted on going.

"They should be back soon," Iroh said, turning his head to the windows and the falling rain beyond. "This rain shower will help their efforts to douse the flames. It is fate that we are rewarded with such a rare occurrence today."

I'd almost forgotten about the rain. "Yes," I answered with more reassurance, albeit the absence of a smile. I cleared my throat and returned to my meal. A few moments passed in silence, only the beating of rain drops against the glass and the scraping of forks on porcelain filled the dining room.

"Do they know who's behind the fires?" I asked suddenly.

Iroh sighed heavily and shook his head, "No, but I'm sure it's the Resistance again."

Mai snorted into her tea, clenching the cup with a tighter grip as she added, "Monsters."

"The Resistance…" I sighed, irritated and deflated. 'The Resistance' had become a common way to refer to the hundreds of followers that still fought to preserve Ozai's teachings of divine right and supremacy. In the years that followed Ozai's defeat, they had terrorized Fire Nation cities, rallying against Zuko's efforts for change and diplomacy. Arson, robbery, kidnapping, and anarchy were just a few of the tools they used to upset the balance we were all fighting so hard to obtain.

It'd been months since the last disturbance. A group of Zuko's loyal Fire Nation guards had been found executed, their throats cut and their bodies burned to the bone. Their charred remains had been happened upon by one of the gardeners as he was making his morning rounds. A note had been pinned to one of their torsos: _"In death we are reborn. From the ashes comes life. We will not forget."_

I clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes at my plate of food. Suddenly, I didn't feel very hungry anymore. I knew what these people, these… monsters, were capable of. All I wanted was to see Aang, to know that he was okay.

"He'll be okay."

Mai's soft voice startled me. I dropped my fork and it clattered against the porcelain plate. I glanced up at my friend to see her staring past me to the windows.

"They'll be back soon," she said before turning her gaze back to me. Her words were fierce, but I couldn't ignore the worry in her amber eyes.

I nodded and looked down at my plate again. My appetite was gone, but I compelled myself to force the meal down, so as not to disrespect my hosts. Awkward small talk ensued…

"This rain will help the farmers' crops this harvest…"

"This tea is a new brew I'm trying from the Earth Kingdom…"

"Yes, I'm enjoying my stay, thank you…"

Despite all the 'pleasantries' I couldn't make myself stop worrying about Aang's safety. At the same time, I was angry with him for taking off in the middle of the night to fight a bunch of lunatics without telling me. I decided that once he came back I would first hug him, then kiss him, then freeze his arms and legs together until he promised to never leave me behind like this again.

Or maybe I'd freeze his head in a block of ice, or encase his whole body in a water prison, or maybe – shudder – I'd bloodbend him into submission… I made it through the meal by planning my futile reprisal – like any of those would work against the Avatar – and once we'd finally finished the last bit of tea in the teapot, Iroh was the first to excuse himself from the table.

He thanked Mai and me for our company and left us to brood over our empty plates. I stared at the closed door for a few minutes after he was gone, ignoring the servants that had appeared to haul the dirty dishes and uneaten food back to the kitchen.

Mai's voice broke the silence. "It's infuriating, isn't it?"

I knew exactly what she meant, and I nodded. "Yes… it is."

"He thinks he's protecting you," she said into her napkin, before handing it the servant that was taking her plate. "You know that, right?"

"Yes," I answered with a frown. "But I don't need him to protect me. I need him to trust me."

Mai laughed, which – even after four years – was still a sound I was getting used to. "Trust me, I know exactly what you mean," she said as she stood up, brushing invisible crumbs from her lap – Mai was always the picture of perfection. "I would go with freezing his hands and legs together, if I were you," she said with a shrug.

I smiled back at her, "I was favoring that one myself."

She smiled again, pulling back one of her sleeves so that I could see the holster of knives along her forearm. "I plan on pinning Zuko to the wall until he promises to never do this to me again."

We shared a laugh, both knowing how the other felt, before departing from the dining room with promises to _not _to cave in and let the boys get away with what they'd done.

I had told Mai that I was going to my room to wait for Aang there – though I'm sure she could see right through me – but as soon as the door was shut behind me, I took off in the direction of Aang's room in a fast walk. I would have run if I didn't think that I would scare all the servants.

I was just rounding the corner that lead to the hall where Aang's room was, when a servant caught up with me. I recognized him as Ton Lee, one of the many gardeners. My knowledge of this servant's name alone should be enough proof that Aang and I spent entirely too much time in this giant palace.

"Lady Katara!"

I paused, turned, and had to back up a few steps to allow Ton Lee's run to come to a complete stop before he plowed over me. "Is there something wrong?" I asked hurriedly, not missing the sweat that was beaded along his forehead, which insinuated that he'd either ran very fast or very far.

He bent over slightly, heaving deep breaths in and out as he tried to regain his bearings. "I have… a message… for you…." he answered between gasps as he held out a sealed envelope.

_Aang! _I thought fearfully as I grabbed the envelope from his outstretched hand, perhaps a little forcefully. "From who?" I asked as I inspected the blue seal across the seam in which a symbol was imprinted that I didn't recognize.

The servant straightened up, appearing to have finally regained his breath. "I am sorry my Lady, but he said that his identity was to be kept secret."

I had started the motion of ripping the lip of the envelope, but paused. It wasn't from Aang?

"I do not know his name," Ton Lee continued. "He only said to get this to you before you saw anyone else this morning." Ton Lee's face was apologetic. "He said you must read it before you see Avatar Aang."

"Strange..." I turned the small envelope in my hands and narrowed my eyes, "It was a he?"

Ton Lee nodded once in affirmation.

"What did he look like?" I asked cautiously.

"Tall, dark skin, dark hair, blue eyes…" the servant paused thoughtfully. "Actually, my Lady, he looked like you."

I turned my gaze up to the servant, my eyebrows raised both in questioning and surprise, "Like me?"

"Yes Lady Katara. Only…" he trailed off, biting on his lower lip slightly.

"Only?"

"He had a scar..." The servant shuffled nervously, gazing back and forth as if he were afraid he'd be caught doing something he shouldn't. "…over one of his eyes. Like he'd been cut by something."

"A scar?" I reiterated.

"Yes my Lady. On the left side," he demonstrated by tracing one finger from his left temple, across his closed eye lid, to the left corner of his lips.

I wracked my brain, trying to think of anyone I'd come across that met that description. When my efforts remained futile I turned my attention back to the unopened envelope in my hand. I traced the outline of the blue wax seal, but the symbol embedded there remained a mystery as well.

"Thank you, Ton Lee." I said finally. Letting him know that he was dismissed, I turned towards one of the large rain-streaked windows that lined the hallway. Something told me I should read the note from the mystery man in private.

"Um, Lady Katara?" Ton Lee interrupted hesitantly.

I looked up before he continued.

"This man…" he paused, looking as if he were afraid he might cross some invisible boundary. "He seemed… strange. Almost… dangerous."

He hesitated, and I wasn't sure what to respond with.

"Just… be careful…" Ton Lee warned in a soft meek voice that didn't suite his height.

I tried my best to smile, but I'm sure that it wasn't very believable. "Thank you, Ton Lee." I repeated, this time with a double meaning (appreciative and dismissive).

He took the release and left me alone in the hallway with the strange message. I watched the corner he'd disappeared from for a few quiet seconds before turning my attention back to the small envelope. I played with the partially ripped edge that I'd managed to open before being distracted by Ton Lee's description of my sender.

A tall dark man with dark hair and blue eyes… A man who looked like me... A man who had a scar… The only tall dark men in my life that looked like me were my dad and my brother, neither of which had a scar that stretched from temple to lip. The blue seal across the seam definitely looked Water Tribe, despite the fact that the symbol embellished on it was foreign to me. And the description would certainly fit a man born in either North or South Pole. I chewed on my lip as I contemplated the mystery.

Perhaps, the contents of the letter would reveal its sender, I thought as I finally mustered up the courage to rip the envelope the rest of the way open.

I pulled out a thin parchment that had dark splotchy writing on it that was unfamiliar to me.

**The sky is black when the moon is full.**

**We will seek you when shadows fall at night.**

**You are not alone.**

**A full moon is rising.**

I reread the note a second time. A third time. But it made no more sense than it did on the first try.

"You are not alone…" I read out loud, tracing my thumb across the dry ink.

Was this man threatening me? Who will seek me? Despite the general vagueness of the note, I couldn't feel anything but irritation. Who sends a letter and doesn't sign it? How was I supposed to know what this meant?

The rain started picking up velocity outside as I exhaled a forced breath, realizing that this letter was probably just some whack-job thinking he could get a rise out of me. I folded the note back into its little white envelope and tucked it into my kimono. I'd try to figure out the mystery later, for now, I still had to check on Aang.

I started to knock on his door before I decided that if he was in there, he was probably asleep. I knew he would be exhausted after staying up all night, so instead of knocking I tried the doorknob.

It was locked.

No problem. I'd gotten myself through many locked doors before. Carefully, I bended some water out of the humid air around me and froze the water into the shape of a key. I jimmied the key in the lock until I head the tell-tell click of the tumblers and the door swung open. Normally, I would just breathe some ice into the lock until it broke, but I was sure Zuko and Mai wouldn't be too happy with me if I did that here.

Before I was even in the room, I heard Aang snoring loudly from his bed. Relief flooded me as I entered the room and found him sprawled across the mattress, lying on top of the comforter. He hadn't even bothered getting under the bedding and, though he was stripped to the waist, he was still in the same trousers he had been wearing when he'd visited my room the previous night – although he was sporting several new scorch marks and the thick smell of smoke.

I quietly shut the door behind me and tip-toed over to his sleeping form.

The skin across his bare back was dark with soot and there were several places where I could see that the flames had lapped though his clothes and seared his pale flesh an awful red color. I frowned at the sight of him, forgetting how angry I had been only moments ago.

Silently, I retreated to his adjoining bathroom before returning with some washcloths and a bowl of water. Careful not to wake him, I set to work on healing the burns that were visible without turning him.

I ran my hands along his back, feeling the hard muscles beneath my fingers contract with each breath. As I worked, he snored, his body so tired that he didn't move an inch through my healing session. After I'd finished the last visible burn on his shoulder, I took a washcloth and began wiping the soot from his back, following the line of his tattoo from his head to where it disappeared into his trousers. It was inevitable that he'd wake up now.

His eyes fluttered open, and I could tell that it took a second for him to realize that he wasn't still sleeping. "Katara?" he asked groggily as he rolled onto his side so that he could see me.

I flinched at the red marks that adorned his chest and stomach. "You're burnt," I acknowledged softly as I wiped the cloth across his bald head.

He sat up, grimacing as his hand instantly went to a deep burn along the right side of his chest.

I gasp and instantly began pushing him back onto the bed, "Just relax, Aang. Let me heal you."

He nodded as his breathing slowed again.

A blue glow emitted from my hands as I channeled my energy into them, allowing the water to absorb the heat of his skin. When the glow dissipated, the burn was still there, but less angry and red. He visibly relaxed.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

I knew what he was apologizing for, and suddenly I realized that I wasn't angry with him anymore for leaving me. It pained me to see him hurt like this, as I knew it would pain him to see me burnt. However, I had the power to heal his injuries. If I got hurt like this, who would heal mine?

"Don't be," I replied as I continued working on other areas. I could feel his chi strengthening with each healing burn, until I had finally finished the last one. He breathed easy now and his face had its normal glow return.

"Was it bad?" I asked hesitantly as I began running the washcloth along his collar bones.

He frowned and I could tell by his solemn expression that it was.

"We lost three," he said quietly, his grey eyes soft and wet. "Zuko said they were good soldiers, honest men..."

I nodded understandingly, "I'm sorry, Aang."

He tightened his jaw and pursed his lips, "They were supposed to be on leave for the month. Their families were planning celebrations to welcome them home."

He sighed tiredly, "I thought we had gotten the last of the Resistance after that incident with the guards here." He closed his eyes and threw his head against the mattress. "It never ends…"

I smiled sadly and cradled his face in my hands, "It will end. You've done so much to save this world, Aang. I know it seems hopeless, but you'll find a way."

"I haven't done enough, apparently," he answered with a frown. "This Resistance is too strong, there's too man of them. And I don't think it's just Fire Nation involved anymore."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I began washing his chest again.

"I don't know… Just my instincts I guess," he answered, distracted by something I didn't understand. "Something tells me this is more than just Ozai's radicalists."

"Do you think… Azula?" I asked, horrified at the thought that she had managed to contact someone outside of her cell to fulfill her own sick desires to destroy Zuko's power.

"I don't know," he answered gravely. "Maybe…"

I shuddered. Just the mention of Azula's name brought back memories that were better left forgotten. Twice I'd watched her strike at people I loved with her deadly lightening, and I certainly didn't want to see it a third time.

Suddenly, I felt the weight of the strange letter that I'd tucked into my kimono. Was it possible it had something to do with this?

"Aang…" he turned to me as I spoke his name, I was sure he could hear the fear in my voice. "Do you think… the Water Tribe is involved?"

He wrinkled his brow at me, "I don't think so. No. Why do you ask?"

I thought about the blue seal, about the symbol, about the tall dark man with dark skin and blue eyes and a scar across the left side of his face. I thought about the words in the letter: "_You are not alone._"

My mouth went dry. "N-nothing," I answered. "I was just curious."

He narrowed his eyes at me – they went darker as he starting thinking heavily on something – and then frowned. "There's something you're not telling me, Katara."

The letter felt heavier in my kimono. Should I tell him? Ton Lee had said the sender wanted me to read the letter before seeing the Avatar, he never said anything about _showing_ the letter to Aang.

But why should I make Aang worry over this when I wasn't even sure what it meant myself? There was no use in adding more concerns to his proverbial plate of worries at this point. I would wait until I knew more about this stranger and what all this talk about full moons and seeking me out meant.

I continued wiping my washcloth across the muscles in his stomach as I answered. "I'm just worried that you're trying to do too much," It wasn't a lie, I _was_ worried that Aang was stretching himself too thin, burning the candle at both ends as it were.

He continued staring at me for a few more seconds, seemingly trying to read my thoughts by my expression before he relaxed. "I know you're worried about me, Katara," he said thoughtfully. "I wish that things weren't always like this."

"They won't be," I assured him with a smile as I wrung out my washcloth over the basin of water and draped it over the side. "I promise!"

He sat up next to me, stretching his arms over his head. "Thank you, Katara," he said with a genuine smile. "I feel like a new man."

I returned his grin, glad that the atmosphere had taken a much lighter tone. "You still need a bath," I teased as I swiped a finger along his cheek and then showed him the soot that had come off of him. I giggled, "A washcloth and a basin of water can only do so much."

He laughed, and I reveled in the sound as his voice bounced off the walls, "I guess you're right."

I bent down, resting my palms against his bare chest, and kissed him lightly. He tasted like sweat and soot, but still amazing all the same. "I love you," I acknowledged against his mouth.

"Mmmm…" he hummed. "I never get tired of hearing that," he murmured against my lips before kissing me again.

I had meant for my kiss to be short and innocent in parting, but I lost myself in his lips as he pulled me closer and breathed himself into my lungs. His hands went to my face before traveling down my neck, across my shoulders, and down my sides before resting on my hips. He wrapped his arms around me and I could feel the muscles in his chest contract as he pulled me eagerly against him.

My head was spinning too fast to comprehend that we were kissing in his bed, that I was pinned on top of Aang's bare chest. I traced the outline of his arms, running my hands along his shoulders, drinking in his air kisses before he inevitably pulled away out of breath.

I dropped my head into his neck and moaned into his shoulder, "How do you always do that to me?"

His shoulders shook with laughter. "Trust me, it is _you_ that do that to _me_…"

I shook my head, which by the way was no longer pounding, "I disagree."

He pulled my hair out of my face and kissed my forehead. "I do, however, hate to tell you that I'm not the only one who needs a bath now."

"What?" I looked up to see him grinning wickedly at me. It wasn't until I sat up fully that I noticed that there were dark smudges of soot all over my red kimono where his hands had followed the outline of my body. My front was ruined where I'd been pressed against his chest and I'm sure it was all over my face. I scowled at him, "Aang!"

He laughed and sat up to kiss my cheek before crawling off the bed. "It looks good on you, love."

I rolled my eyes as I took the washcloth from the basin and tried to wipe some of the smudges from my face. "You'd say that if I were covered head to toe in mud."

His laughs died into a smile as he helped me off the bed. "If you were covered in mud from head to toe," he paused, took the washcloth from my hand and wiped at a smudge I'd apparently missed on my cheek, "then I couldn't see your pretty face."

"Right…" I couldn't help but grin at the playful smile he was still wearing. "Well…" I stepped back from him and pulled at the smudged wrinkles in my kimono, "Do I look presentable enough to make it back to my room without turning too many heads?"

Aang commented something about how I would turn heads no matter how dirty or wrinkled I was, before I kissed him goodbye and shut the door on my way out. I could hear the bath water running before I was even down the hall.

I was in my room after only two strange looks from passing servants. I scanned my room, not surprised to see that Aang had indeed _not_ left me a note about why he wouldn't be at breakfact. It was then that I remembered the promise between Mai and me, and I suddenly felt guilty that I hadn't kept up my end of the bargain. I passed my guilt off, as I decided that I would freeze Aang's arms and legs when I saw him again after getting cleaned up.

As I undressed, my fingers instantly went to the letter clutched in the folds of my kimono. I frowned at it, realizing that I'd almost been hoping that the whole interaction with Ton Lee had been a dream, and there wasn't still this strange note to deal with. I opened it again and reread the words a forth time. I still didn't understand their meaning any more than I did the first time I had read it.

"This is ridiculous!" I snorted in frustration before crumbling the letter into a ball of paper and throwing it in the fire that burned constantly in the fireplace. I watched the paper wilt and the ink run and sizzle against the flames. I sighed, expecting to feel relief, but I couldn't ignore the feeling of dread that overcame me as it hissed one last time before disappearing in a puff of smoke…

**The sky is black when the moon is full.**

**We will seek you when shadows fall at night.**

**You are not alone.**

**A full moon is rising.**

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**A/N:** So, the plot thickens somewhat eh? I know that the idea of a Resistance in postwar fics is somewhat overdone and all, but let's face it folks. We're talking about a hundred year long war here! Of course there would be people who still believed that the Fire Nation was supreme. I mean, they'd been taught that for over a century!

Anywho, I rather liked writing the breakfast scene. Trying to write Mai's character the way I see her as an adult is rather difficult! I tried making her still reserved and such by keeping her dialogue minimal and in short sentences. But at the same time, I want it to seem like she's opened up more. I think her and Katara's friendship would be based a lot on the fact that they are both strong warriors and very capable of handling themselves, yet they are in love with equally strong leaders who might not always remember that fact!

I've enjoyed reading all the reviews I've gotten thus far, so please, keep 'em coming!!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Sorry, it took a little longer than planned to get this updated. I apologize for the delay. It starts with boring politcal stuff, but pay close attention to the last scene here, it's a big player in future chaps!! Enjoy!

* * *

**.3.**

**For now, my dear, we Breathe**

"…It is not a matter of equality Councilman! It is a matter of citizenship! These colonists have occupied Earth Kingdom territory as citizens to the Fire Nation! Why should we allow them the same rights as those of us who have paid our dues to the Earth Kingdom?"

"Because, Minister Lao, it is not within your jurisdiction to allow or deny those benefits or duties to any one man! The Earth Kings have both expressed their desire to continue with Lord Zuko's resolution." Zuko's advisor pointed an accusing finger across the table to the four men dressed in green. "I am astounded that you would sit there and disregard your King's orders so boldly, Minister."

I rolled my eyes, second-guessing my demand to attend the afternoon council meeting. I'd come for fear that at any moment a guard would burst through the floor to ceiling doors that lead to the hallway and announce another uprising. Although I'd forgiven Aang for leaving the previous night without me, I surely wouldn't give him the opportunity to do it again. I met Mai's equally bored eyes across the table, where she sat beside her husband, and for an instant we shared a look of smug victory.

Of course, the ministers from the Earth Kingdom had objected to my presence the second I'd entered the room and taken my seat next to Aang. I'd insisted – for Aang's sake – that, as representative of the Southern Water Tribe, it was mandatory that I be allowed to sit in on any council meeting that I so chose. I was starting to wish that I'd chosen another one…

Minister Lao, chief advisor to King Kuei of Ba Sing Se, stood up from his chair so quickly that the legs hissed loudly against the marble floor creating a most unpleasant screech. "Sir, I am merely acting in my King's best interest. Perhaps it is the Fire Lord's thirst for vengeance on my people that leads my King's hand so blindly!!"

The advisor cloaked in red sitting at Zuko's right hand narrowed his eyes, "I suggest you steady your tongue Minister, before you find yourself without one!"

Mai tensed suddenly and Zuko looked as if he'd put an end to the councilmen's quarrel, but before he could speak Aang stood up to my left.

"Gentleman," he cleared his throat and the room fell deftly silent as all eyes took in all six feet of the Avatar. I straightened up in my chair at the rare occasion to see Aang display himself in such a way. It gave me goose-bumps.

"It is in the best interest of _everyone"_ – here he glared over at Minister Lao, who visibly recoiled at the booming quality of Aang's voice before abruptly, and rather meekly, reclaiming his seat – "that we come to a mutual understanding. It is understandable that Earth Kingdom citizens feel unjust about the tax situation. They have been very tolerant to allow the Fire Nation colonists to continue living and operating on Earth Kingdom territory."

Aang turned his gaze to Zuko, who gave him the faintest of approving nods. "Fire Lord Zuko and I have discussed the situation with both King Bumi and King Keui and we have reached a conclusion."

The room felt tense as the four Earth Kingdom ministers, two Fire Nation advisors, and my self waited to hear Aang's verdict.

"The Fire Nation colonists who wish to stay will be required the same tax rate and duties as any other Earth Kingdom citizen. Those who wish to continue serving duties to the Fire Nation may return to their homeland."

The four men in green grinned wildly, and Minister Lao even went as far as nodding his head and clapping to show his approval. He might as well have stuck his tongue out while he was at it.

"…however," Aang continued with an air in his voice that showed his disapproval of Lao's childish behavior. Lao recoiled again. "These colonists will _not _be denied the same rights and privileges that are allowed to any other Earth Kingdom citizen. This includes tax breaks, public schooling, and equal representation."

Lao grimaced, "Avatar Aang, I urge you…"

"This matter is no longer up for discussion," Aang narrowed his gaze at the nobleman before scanning the room quickly and reclaiming his seat next to mine. I caught his gaze from the corner of my eye and felt a surge of pride at how professionally he had handled the situation. I knew that he came to these meetings with the intention to merely supervise, and he only stepped in when things got particularly volatile.

"Given last night's developments, we have much more important matters to be discussing. Wouldn't you agree, Minister Lao?" Zuko broke in, and I suddenly realized that it was the first time I had heard him speak since the council had convened.

Minister Lao nodded reluctantly and sulked into the back of his chair. I tried my best to contain my joy that we were moving on in the topic of discussion. If I was going to force myself to sit through this awful meeting, I at least wanted to get some good out of it. Maybe Zuko's guards had learned more about the fires in the hours that had passed since breakfast.

Zuko turned to a guard that was stationed by the door and nodded to him. The man nodded back and cracked open the door to summon someone inside.

Suddenly the door swung open wider on its hinges and a large man came striding into the room. I recognized him as General Zaspher, one of Zuko's highest military officers. He'd been one of Zuko's first appointed generals after the war, and had remained his most trusted confidant – after Iroh and Aang, of course.

The man had a rather demanding presence, and a loud raspy voice to match. His armor angled around his muscular frame, shinning brilliantly with the reflection of the sun that was streaming through the windows. His face was wrinkled and weathered from years of hardships I'm sure I'd never understand, but his tawny eyes were kind and gentle, despite the ferocity smoldering just under the surface. My first impression of General Zaspher four years earlier had been of a passionate man who was willing to sacrifice anything he had to bring prosperity back to his country. His years of servitude to Zuko and undying allegiance to his country had done little to respite that first impression.

He pulled a scroll from his belt as he took a spot standing next to the table, his face displaying a stern resolve and fierce countenance. "As you all know, last night two Fire Nation navy vessels were raided while docked in the Royal harbor. Three soldiers were killed trying to control the flames and many more were badly injured. The healers tell me we've lost four more since then."

I saw Aang flinch beside me, and I softly placed a hand on his knee under the table, squeezing it once in reassurance. The only indication I got that my action had been received was the long slow breath he released as his features softened slightly.

General Zaspher continued without a missed beat. "The blasting jelly that was used to light the fires was of the same make that have been found at other attacks. We believe this to be the work of the Resistance. The officers that survived the assault have been questioned, but no one remembers anything being out of the ordinary before the explosion. However, most of the men are still in the acute stages of recovery, and the infirmary healers will not condone anymore questioning until their wounds have healed."

The general paused, before turning to me – the first act that anyone besides Aang or Mai recognized my presence in the room at all – "Master Katara, it would be of great use to us if your services could be utilized to speed up their recovery so that we might talk with these soldiers while the memory is still fresh."

I was immediately ashamed of my selfishness – I'd been so determined to sit through this meeting to keep an eye on Aang, that I'd unintentionally ignored my duties as a healer. My face fell with my released breath as I pulled my palm from Aang's knee so that I could fold my hands across the table in front of me. I nodded, "Of course, General Zaspher. It would be my pleasure to aid these men."

The general nodded back his thank you as Aang spoke up to my left.

"General, did your men find any evidence that might give away the attackers' identity?"

The old man shook his head slowly, "No, Avatar Aang. I'm afraid the only evidence we have at this point is what those men can recall from that night."

Aang's shoulders slumped; it was obviously not the answer any of us had been hoping for. I lowered my gaze to my hands, trying in vain to read the answer to the mystery in my palms.

"Were there any bystanders on the docks?" I asked with my eyes on my hands before I glanced up quickly to Aang. He looked encouraged, so I turned back to the general. "Perhaps someone saw something from one of the shops. I'm sure the fishermen were in the harbor at that time, maybe one of them saw something suspicious."

General Zaspher's eyes lit up as he answered, "It's a possibility. We have not managed to question any of the citizens just yet."

Aang's jaw set with a decision, and I knew what he was thinking before he even said it. "General, I would like to go to the docks this evening for just that purpose. Can you gather three men that can help me?"

"Of course, Avatar."

"The attacks happened just after sunset," Zuko turned to Aang, and they shared a look of hope. "Our best bet is to be on the docks at the same time tonight."

Aang nodded, "I agree."

I withheld a sigh – obviously our stay in the Fire Nation palace had been extended due to extenuating circumstances – and met Mai's gaze across the table. The determination behind her amber eyes was not missed. I'm sure she had every intention of accompanying her husband to the docks that evening.

Zuko pierced his eyes with the same look of determination – apparently he hadn't missed Mai's resolve either – before he looked over to General Zaspher again. "Is that all, General?"

The General nodded, but before he could end his report one of Zuko's advisors cut him off.

"General, what efforts have been made to ensure the safety of our remaining military?" Advisor Fang – the same one that had threatened to cut out Minister Lao's tongue earlier – turned to the rest of the table. "For that matter, what efforts are being made to ensure everyone's safety?" he asked with a wide gesture of his pointy fingers.

"This morning a group of messenger hawks was sent out to check on outlying soldiers, but no reports have made it back to suspect anymore foul play." General Zaspher turned his amber gaze to Zuko before continuing, "Security at the palace and Lord Zuko's safety is, of course, our primary concern."

Fang harrumphed and muttered something under his breath about how 'lucky we all are that the Avatar was visiting' and that 'we all would sleep sounder tonight if the young Fire Lord would let Avatar Aang deal with the Resistance instead of leaving the palace to do so himself'.

I'm sure Fang thought the _young Fire Lord_ was too busy listening to the end of the General's report to hear what he'd said, but the annoyed glare Zuko shot at him told me otherwise. I contained my amusement by tapping my thumbs against each other. Beside me, Aang shifted in his seat and cleared his throat in an attempt, I'm sure, to warn the advisor.

It was no secret that the majority of Zuko's council disagreed wholeheartedly with his 'hands-on' approach to rebuilding his country. On more than one occasion, they'd been bold enough to approach him after he'd come home from a Resistance squabble battered and bruised, stating that if he'd just let the military handle the situation there'd be no need for the increased threat on the palace. "It is not the Fire Lord's place," the advisors had said, "to deal with such matters on a remedial level. Let the system work, let the soldiers do their job."

"Advisor Fang," Zuko's raspy voice startled me to the present.

Fang flinched, biting at his lip as if to eat away at the words he wished he hadn't voiced.

"You will keep your personal comments to yourself, or I will see to it that you do," Zuko finished before turning back to General Zaspher. "Thank you General. The Avatar and I will meet with your men this evening following dinner and I will meet with you shortly to discuss arrangements for the soldiers' burials. I hope for a speedy recovery for the rest of our men."

"As do I, Lord Zuko," the General bowed – which was a site to see as he was easily twice Zuko's size – before he exited the room with only the click of his boots on the marble floor.

The meeting ended shortly after that, and before long I was sitting with Aang outside the Royal Palace, preparing to leave for the infirmary. It was still raining, but the afternoon shower had dwindled into a slow steady drizzle that proved to be more of an annoyance than a hindrance. I kept my hand over my head, bending the water that dripped from the fruit tree we were under without thinking about it.

Aang's eyes were dark, distracted and distant, and I knew without asking that he was thinking ahead to the evening at the docks. Would we have answers after tonight? Would someone remember something that would shed light on who was behind the attacks? I hoped for answers not only to find the attackers, but to bring the boyish smile back to Aang's eyes. I hated seeing him so… _not_ Aang.

I touched his cheek, and he blinked once to bring his eyes back to the present before meeting mine. I breathed easier as they lightened to the color of the rain clouds that spilled above us, and I smiled softly.

He released a sigh and returned my smile as he pulled me against his chest. "You'll be alright?" he asked into my hair, his hand sweeping across the nape of my neck as he ran the little hairs that fell from my up-do under his fingers. "There must be over twenty men to heal."

I nodded as I wrapped my arms around his waist and he pulled his hand from my neck to take over as the makeshift umbrella. "I'll be fine, Aang. I've done this a million times."

He sighed again, and though I couldn't see his face I knew it was without the smile this time. "That's what worries me."

I shifted in his embrace, pulling my face up to kiss the bottom of his jaw. "Stop worrying," I assured. "I'll be done here in a few hours and then I'll meet you at the docks by sunset."

He chuckled dryly, "And that's supposed to make me feel better?" He looked down at me with a wry smile and I took the opportunity to move my lips to his mouth quickly and softly. He kissed me back, more out of routine than want or need, which left me feeling rather deflated and useless.

I pulled away to see that his mouth was still set in a discreet frown, the distant look still glazing over his cloudy eyes. "Stop worrying," I urged sternly, leaving no room for disagreement as I pulled my hands from his back and rested them on his chest. "For me."

_For me… _It was a line I only used when the situation called for such measures. I wouldn't call it manipulative… More like persuasive.

His grey eyes searched my face before meeting my resolute gaze. "Okay Katara…" he finally said with a soft smile I'd been waiting all afternoon for.

I smiled back, satisfied, and kissed him again, enjoying how he reciprocated the action this time with more wonton deliberation. The heat in his lips moved across mine and filled my entire body with a kind of warmth I only got from kissing Aang. I once mused that it was the Firebender in him that filled me with such warmness, but I'd long since decided that it came from somewhere more meaningful – as if his love for me transpired into a tangible heat whenever he allowed it.

I drank in his breath before pulling away reluctantly. "I've got to get to the infirmary," I muttered against his mouth.

"I know," he said softly, kissing me again sweetly. "Don't push yourself too hard."

"Only if you don't," I smiled as I stepped out of his arms and returned to bending the water from my head. "Be careful," I added before turning towards the winding path that led to the small infirmary.

"You too!" he called out, the soft pitter patter of rain muffling his words.

I waved so he knew I heard him. I could feel him watching me as I made my way through the grove of trees before I disappeared from his view.

The stone path to the infirmary was slippery from the rain, so I had to make a conscious effort to not only duck the low-lying branches from the trees, but also mind my steps on the slick trail. Although I could bend the rain from myself without thinking twice, I couldn't stop the sweat beads that were sprouting along my brow and sprinkling down my temples. The rain had done little to stifle the heat, and had only added to the sweltering humidity in the air.

I froze a few rain drops and ran the ice along my brow line to subdue the sweat. I seemed to work because by the time I reached the infirmary, I felt somewhat rejuvenated.

The guards let me in with barely a passing glance. They'd grown accustomed to my frequent visits, though they were somewhat distraught with me that I hadn't brought them any sweet bread this time. I apologized with promises of sweet bread and rum on my next visit. This seemed to appease them, and they assured me they'd remember the promise as we stepped through the door that led to the main healing room.

My shoulders fell and I frowned in disappointment. Aang had been right… The room was lined with rows of cots where at least thirty men lay damaged and burned, some beyond recognition. Small carts held numerous bottles of ointments and balms that the healers were busy slathering on some of the wounded soldiers. Sterile white sheets lay over those that had passed since being brought here and muffled moans and the scent of burnt flesh mixed with lotions filled the room.

"How many?" I asked softly, tearing my eyes from the scene before me.

"Thirty two," the guard to my right, whom I knew as Pei, answered solemnly. "We lost four this morning."

I sucked in a deep breath, preparing myself for the hours that lay before me. "I guess I better get to work."

Pei smiled sadly as he handed me a pail of water. "The world could not repay you enough for what you do, Master Katara." He hesitated before exiting. "We are truly thankful," he added before disappearing out the door through which we had entered.

I watched the door sway shut again before stepping into the room and kneeling at the first cot I came to. The soldier that lay there was burnt along the left side of his torso, and a large gash protruded from his hair line where I assumed he'd been hit in the head by a falling beam.

He gasped out of surprise as I laid my glowing hands on his head and began the work of re-stitching the severed tissue. He soon relaxed into the cot and I started repairing the blistering skin along his shoulder and arm. The burns were mostly superficial, though I had to spend extra time where they were deep enough to disturb the muscle beneath. The whole process took only a few minutes, and when I finished, the man opened his tired eyes and grabbed my hand between his.

"Thank you, angel," he whispered hoarsely, before rolling over in his cot and drifting back to sleep. The left side of his body was still rough and scarred and would forever be disfigured, and I cursed myself again for not coming to their aid sooner.

I continued my work in this manner, spending ten to twenty minutes at each cot – depending on the severity of the injuries – before moving onto my next patient. I moved out of urgency and need, and when my work began to wear on my own chi, I worked out of necessity. After each healing, the man would usually grab at my hands, feeling the source that had brought them life again, and whisper their thanks. More than once I was deemed an angel or a spirit, and I was briefly reminded of my short stint as the Painted Lady.

I was three hours into the healing, and over half way through the cots, when my attention was distracted from the blisters in front of me when one of the healers cried out…

"Master Katara!"

I was startled, and the water I had been using to knit together the wounded soldier in front of me splattered to the floor. I looked up to see the healer that had apparently called my name gesturing wildly.

"Master Katara, come quickly!"

Without thinking twice I jumped up from my kneeling position, forgetting the wounded man in the cot beside me, and sprinted in the direction she had yelled from. The healer, Tai Mi if I remembered correctly, was kneeled over a cot where a man, badly burnt and bleeding, was gasping at the air like a fish sucking on dry land.

I gasped and threw my hands across his chest. I didn't even remember calling on my element, but as the blue glow emitted from my hands I watched in horror as his tired heart struggled to pump his sluggish blood and his smoke filled lungs fought to bring life to his body. It was obvious that the man was dying. I could feel his pain in every cell of my body, and I choked back tears as I tried my best to ease his suffering.

Tai Mi sobbed beside me, "What can we do?"

"Make him comfortable," I answered sadly. I tore my gaze from his tortured eyes and looked up to the healer. "Get some rags and water."

She nodded eagerly and raced to the other end of the room to retrieve what I'd asked for. I watched her retreat only a second before I looked back at the suffering man beneath my hands. "I'm sorry…" I muttered. "I'm so so sorry…"

He groaned painfully, gasping at the air as he focused his charcoal eyes on mine. I watched him struggle to suck at the air with watery eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" I murmured, my eyes closed so I could focus everything I had to make his pain tolerable.

I was startled when his breathing slowed and his raspy grated voice broke the silence. "In death…" he whispered, so softly I had to kneel closer to his blistered mouth to hear him. "…we are reborn…"

My eyes eyes popped open at the words and I released a shaky breath. "What did you say?" I asked numbly.

The man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he shuddered. I gasped as I felt his chi slipping between my fingers and I held on to it tighter, pulling all of the energy I could from the water surrounding my hands. "What did you say?" I asked again.

"From the ashes…" he rasped out before blood spurted from his lips and poured across the charred skin of his face. "…comes life…"

I would remember those words anywhere. Suddenly images of charred human remains filled my subconscious. The tears I'd been restraining slid down my face as I listened, horrified, to the dying man in my hands. It suddenly occurred to me that this man hadn't been burned while attempting to put of the fires… He'd been burned while starting them.

"Who are you?" I asked forcefully. "Where did you hear that?! Who are you?"

The man coughed and blood cascaded down the front of my red kimono. I didn't notice it.

I glared back at the charred man, repelling every urge I had to let his life slip from my fingers as I continued holding onto the last little bit of energy he had left. "Tell me who you are," I demanded.

The man blinked and then settled his bloodshot eyes on me. A chill ran down my spine as I realized his eyes hadn't been as charcoal black as I had originally thought they were. A sliver of light reached his scalded face from the skylight above us, and his eyes shown with a blue radiance I hadn't noticed in them before. I shuddered.

"We are Mangestu," he whispered past the thin black skin of his lips as the last bit of life I'd been clinging to dissipated from my hands.

I willed myself to move, to speak, to cry out... But I found that all I could do was stare in horror at the shape of the dead man on the cot in front of me as silent tears streamed down my face. The room around me was obsolete, and my energy drained into the floorboards as I tore my gaze from him and shifted it to my bloodstained hands.

I heard Tai Mi sob out next to me as she clutched at the rags she'd brought back with her. I watched her pull the white sheet over the man's dead body and I listened as she whispered a prayer to Agni for a safe journey to the afterlife.

I could barely hear Tai Mi's cries as she shook my shoulders desperately. Somewhere in my shocked mind I understand that she was worried about me.

"I need some fresh air," I replied with a voice that sounded far away. I wondered if I was even the one that spoke.

The reply must have been sufficient, because the shaking stopped.

Numbly, I made my way out of the room and into the rain. The shower drizzled down my front, mixing with the blood on my kimono so that it dripped in little pink ripples from the hems of my clothing. I let it beat down on my head, not even bothering with trying to bend it out of my face as it washed away my tears. All I could do was force gulps of air past the lump in my throat as my mind ran in torrid circles around the man's dying words…

_We are Mangetsu._

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**A/N: **So… As far as plot line goes, I've got to say this chapter is one of my favs. Things are finally getting set into motion as to how everything will play out in future chapters! I'm already planning how I'll start out Chapter 4! Don't forget to review as always!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Yeah for updates! SORRY everyone! I know this took a looooong time. I hope it was worth the wait. And be forewarned, there's a LOT of symbolism in this chap that I hope you all catch!! Kudos to those of you that do! And did I mention that I love Robert Frost?? ;)

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**.4.**

**I am, you See, but One Traveler**

By the time I finished knitting together the last of the wounded soldiers, the sun had long since set. The forest of weathered golden trees that surrounded the infirmary had been blanketed in the pale glow of the crescent moon, so that their yellow leaves seemed alight with its radiance. I had once marveled that in the Fire Nation, even the trees seemed to be on fire. The dark black sky was littered with starlight and lined with silver thunderheads where the clouds had parted. In the distance I could hear the low rumble of thunder, but for the time being the rain had ceased over the Royal City.

I realized I had missed my sunset deadline to meet Aang at the docks, so I made my way through the tall wood with quiet haste and the moonlight guiding my path. My mind still raced with the mysterious dying man's words, and I couldn't get the image of his haunted eyes out of my head. It sent a lingering chill through my spine as unanswered questions raced about in my thoughts.

It had taken every ounce of strength I possessed to finish healing the injured men at the infirmary. I had moved like a programmed robot between cots, my hands working on their own accord, completely disconnected from the rest of my body. My motions had been sluggish and distracted, so it had taken twice as long as it should have to get through the last few men waiting in their cots.

Dozens of yellow-leaved branches were knocked aside as I made my way up the winding path with only the brush of leaves beneath my feet and the occasional hoot of a wolf-owl accompanying me. As I tore through the forest as fast as I dared, I couldn't subdue the aching desire to know who this _Mangetsu _was.

I had traveled the world over on the back of a flying bison for five years, and I'd never come across such a name. Not even a hushed whisper in an alley way or overdramatic gossip in a crowded teashop. Not one mention of it in the marketplace streets of a far away town or uttered breath in a quiet village. Not in all the tales I'd heard recited from all four nations had I heard one about such a name.

I wracked my brain, trying to come up with an answer. But as I ducked another low-lying branch, causing left over rain water to spray across the front of my kimono, I realized that it was futile to remember a name I'd never heard before now.

I continued through the forest, anxious to get to the docks to see Aang. I was thinking about what all I wanted to tell him about the healing session when I realized that I had come to a fork in the path.

I paused, the fiery yellow forest quiet and unresponsive around me, and looked to my left where one path led back to the Palace. The trees gave a wide girth to this path and the glow of the moon danced along the stone tiles that made up the trail. In the distance the faint glow of the Palace lights misted over the short horizon, and I could even hear some of the servants in the courtyards enjoying the pause in the rain.

I frowned, and quietly turned my head to my right, where the flat even stones morphed into craggy rocks that made up the narrow path that led to the prison along the western cliff. The tall yellow trees were overgrown and steep on either side, so that the path was hidden in the undergrowth from the moon's natural light. Dead fallen leaves scattered along the broken tiles gave the impression that most visitors to the prison – if there were such a thing – chose to travel there by a different, more inviting trail.

I had paused at the fork, because it felt natural. It felt second nature to stand at the divided path, staring down both ends as if I were contemplating which to pursue. But as I stood there, listening to the soft sounds of the forest around me, I was suddenly reminded of _who _was sitting in that prison at the end of the craggy path to my right.

A new chill now accompanied the old as a pair of fierce yellow eyes made their way into my subconscious. I'd tried so hard to forget those eyes… her screams… that wicked wicked smile…

Azula's deranged behavior had haunted my nights for five years. I remembered how she had looked the last time I had seen her: chained to a sewage grate by my own hand, screaming and crying and more terrifying than I could ever remember seeing her. And now, just the thought of her sitting in that prison cell sent a new wave of terror crashing through every nerve in my body. I felt nauseous as I stared down the overgrown trail, and I turned quickly to my left, unable and unwilling to look down the black throat of the craggy path.

I suddenly felt I couldn't get far enough away from that awful place and I took off in the direction of the Palace in a faster pace than that which I had started. I had taken several steps towards the light of the Palace glow, until suddenly a thought occurred to me…

_What if. _

The idea struck me so intensely that I stopped dead in my tracks. Every part of me froze in silence, and I was suddenly very aware of the beating of my own heart.

What if… What if Azula knew?

It seemed plausible. The only people I knew that had seen as much of the world as I had were the friends I had traveled with, and _her_. My mouth suddenly felt very dry, and I struggled to swallow. I turned my head over my right shoulder and chanced a look down the dark path again.

What if Azula knew who the Mangetsu were? What if she knew and she could help?

As soon as I thought it, I snorted, breaking the suffocating silence that had enveloped the forest around me. Azula? Help? Absurd!

Even if she did know who the Mangetsu were – _if _being the preeminent word – why should she – why _would _she – help me? With this final thought I turned back towards the palace, leaving the darkened trail and Azula's prison cell behind me.

Only a few minutes later I was through the Palace gates and the fork in the path seemed miles and miles away. When I made it to the stables, I sweet-talked my way past the servants and took the first ostrich-horse I came to. He snorted at me in disapproval when I mounted him – he was obviously enjoying his night time sleep before I had waken him for a ride to the docks – but soon we were flying through one of the Palace gates and headed towards the sounds of the ocean.

It didn't take long to reach the Royal docks, and once I got there it didn't take that much longer to notice the thick putrid smell of smoke that still lingered on the salty ocean breeze. I wrinkled my nose at the scent as I left my ride tied to a post near a closed shop and proceeded to look for Aang and Zuko.

The normal buzzing of chaos that defined the shipyard during the day was frighteningly desolate here at night. Lit torches cast a warm glow over the docks, which was appreciated since the smoke from the remains pretty much blocked any light the moon attempted to offer. The fuel would probably burn for days before the air would be clear again...

Only a few small fishing boats were docked against the piers and the people that usually milled around the shops were scarce and scattered. The only people I did pass were fisherman and trade routers who walked quickly with wide strides, making no effort to make eye contact or even acknowledge each other. It felt sadly familiar as I recalled some of the villages I had visited before the end of the war. No one trusting anyone and everyone afraid of everything...

I got back to work looking for Zuko and Aang as I tried not to think about it.

Judging by the group of armed guards that moved in a cluster of red and gold only a few yards to my left, I only had to guess once where Zuko was at the moment. I took one more look around me, scanning the docks as far as I could see before making my way towards the Royal bodyguards that Zuko insisted were obsolete and often referred to as "the leeches".

Since the majority of the men knew me as "the Avatar's girl" and knew I didn't pose a threat to "his Highness", I had no trouble getting through their lines of defense. Once I did, I found Zuko standing in the doorway of a fish market, questioning the supposed owner inside – a rather large man with a grey beard and small nervous eyes that flittered from Zuko's face to the faces of his guards and back again as he talked.

I felt a little sorry for the merchant, and I smiled sympathetically as I approached the two men.

"So, you're saying that you didn't see anything strange yesterday? Anything out of the ordinary?" Zuko asked, his voice sounding hoarse and tired and much less intimidating that it normally did.

But still the older fishmonger shifted his beady little black eyes nervously among the Royal faces before answering in a meek voice that I pictured normally being deep and full of laughter, "No, my Lord. I'm afraid I spend much of my time in my shop. I never saw anyone suspicious." He shifted his worried eyes to me and I noticed his shoulders stiffen and his face tense somewhat.

I smiled at the old man in attempt to ease his nerves, but his eyes only lingered on me a second before he looked back at his Fire Lord with no less tension than he started with. "I am sorry, my Lord. I do wish I could be of more help."

Zuko frowned and turned to look at me, perhaps to see what the merchant had been looking at. We shared a confused expression before he turned back to the older gentlemen, "Well if you think of anything, please let us know."

"Of course, my Lord!" he answered eagerly. His posture relaxed dramatically as Zuko turned and left through the open doorway with his guards hot on his heels.

I paused before leaving, giving one last glance at the merchant. He recoiled slightly as I stared at him, trying to understand why he seemed so distraught with my presence. I smiled at him one last time to convey that I meant him no harm before turning to the door and leaving.

I met Zuko outside where he was discussing with his closest guard which shops were left to interrogate. I placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to pause mid-sentence. He looked at me with tired eyes and lines in his forehead that answered my question before I even asked it…

"Any luck?"

"Every story has been the same," he sighed heavily. "No one suspicious… Nothing strange... No one has heard or seen anything…"

I nodded understandingly. "I know it's frustrating, Zuko. Maybe Aang's found something.

He shrugged, "Maybe… He took the eastern docks. They _were_ closer to the explosions."

I looked in the direction he had gestured, past the smoldering remains of the ships to the empty shops and markets. "Then I'm sure he's found _something_." I answered as I turned back to my friend. "What about Mai?"

His eyes were soft and dull as he stood staring in the eastern direction, and I realized he was looking at the remains of the two Navy ships. "She took two of Zaspher's soldiers and started with the trade merchants along the northern rim of the bay," he answered despairingly. "I should go check on her."

"Hey," I said sympathetically as he tore his eyes from their point of focus and shifted them back to me. "We'll catch whoever is behind this."

He paused for a second as he considered my statement before answering with a sad smile, "Why don't you go see if Aang's made any progress."

If it were anyone else I would have argued and insisted that he share my optimistic resolution. But I knew Zuko well enough to realize that he displayed his hope in much different ways than most people. So instead I just nodded gently – "Okay" – and headed for the eastern side, making futile attempts to swish the smell of smoke from my face with my hand.

I walked, looking for Aang while simultaneously searching the shops along the docks for any that were open. The deprivation of breath-worthy air was staring to cause my chest to burn by the time I came across a shop that still had lanterns burning in the windows. I sighed in relief and hurried towards the inviting aroma of baking bread.

I paused at the cracked doorway when I heard a familiar voice coming from inside the bakery. A smile instantly began playing across my face as I listened to Aang's laughter that was reverberating from within the shop. It shook through me in waves and suddenly the burning sensation in my chest was long gone.

I couldn't remember the last time I had heard Aang's laughter so full and genuine. It brought back memories of our childhood together, when he would forget he was the Avatar for a while so he could ride a giant fish, or fly around on his glider, or just be Aang. I reached for the doorknob with a goofy grin, ready to thank the baker that made the Avatar so Aang-like again, if only for a second.

"I didn't know the Avatar was such a fan of tarts!"

I froze at the feminine giggle that was now accompanying Aang's laughter. My hand was stationary at the door as I narrowed my eyes and listened very carefully.

Aang chuckled and I could hear him set what sounded like a plate down on a table. "I haven't had a cream tart that good since I used to make them with the monks as a kid!"

The woman giggled again and I heard light footsteps, "Well I am so glad you enjoyed it. Come in anytime! Imagine how good it will be for my business." She paused and I stayed stationary as I contemplated how long it would take Aang to use his Earthbending to "see" me eavesdropping from outside the door. "Everyone will want to try the tarts that the Avatar enjoys so much!"

"Please, just call me Aang."

I narrowed my eyes further and my mouth set in a thin line as a thought occurred to me... Either he was very distracted with the tart, or he was very distracted with the baker...

Either way I had heard enough.

I cleared my throat and knocked on the door once before pushing it open, "Hello?"

I came into the room as tall as I could and the minute I set eyes on Aang I could tell he was surprised to see me. It wasn't a "I-was-caught-doing-something-I-shouldn't" surprise, or even a "Oh-no-I'm-in-trouble-now" surprise. He smiled at me in a genuine "I'm-happy-to-see-you" surprise and stood up to give me a hug.

"Katara," he greeted me with his hug and a soft kiss on my forehead. I looked up at his grin and instantly forgot how uneasy I'd felt only seconds ago when I saw the remnants of flour adorning his chin. "I'm so glad you're here. I want you to meet someone."

I frowned, instantly _remembering_ how uneasy I'd felt only seconds ago. But Aang didn't notice as he stepped out of our embrace, leaving one arm around my shoulders as he gestured to the woman standing in front of us now. "This is Keera."

"Keera" was, in all honesty, one of the most exotic women I'd ever seen. She was taller than me, only a few inches shorter than Aang, with warm tan skin that insinuated she spent much of her time in the sun. Her dark black hair was cut very short, above her chin, and it stood out all over her head and fell across her face in sweeps of short black curtains. She looked at me with warm onyx eyes that were almost the same color as her hair. Her maroon clothing was covered with a white apron tied around her thin waist, and although she was covered in what I assumed was flour, she actually looked rather beautiful – which didn't help put me at ease in the slightest.

She smiled at me, showing a full set of perfect white teeth and deep dimples in both cheeks as she wiped a hand on her apron and then extended it in my direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you! You must be Master Katara!"

I attempted to smile as I shook her hand, "I am. It's nice to meet you too, Keera."

Keera's smile widened and her eyes seemed to sparkle behind her thick lashes, "I've heard so much about you."

"Oh? What have you heard?" I smiled genuinely now and turned my gaze back to Aang who was grinning proudly with his arm still tight across my shoulders.

"...how you took down the Princess when she was going after Lord Zuko, and how you were the first female to learn under the direction of Master Pakku in the Northern Water Tribe, and, of course, everyone's heard the stories of you and Avatar Aang." Keera looked at Aang and me smugly before continuing. "You've made yourself pretty well known around the entire world I would say! Everyone knows the stories of Master Katara!"

I frowned, somewhat disappointed that Aang hadn't been the one to talk about me with this woman who had exotic eyes and a perfect smile.

"I was just telling Keera about how you were at the infirmary healing the soldiers that were wounded during the explosions. She must be one of your biggest fans! " Aang chuckled, jostling my shoulders a little.

"Biggest fans?" I asked, distracted. I looked back at Keera and she was laughing again with Aang, as if they were sharing a secret joke. "I don't understand."

Aang squeezed my shoulders and kissed the top of my head, "It seems I'm not the only one with a fan club." He laughed again and motioned towards the black-haired woman that was now cleaning up what must have been Aang's plate and wiping the table he'd been sitting at when I came in. "Keera says women all over the world look up to you as a role model of sorts."

"Oh," I answered, distracted and somewhat annoyed. I couldn't help but think that there were much more important things to be discussing than my fame.

Keera smiled again, "You really are, you know."

I didn't really know what to say. "Um, thanks..." I replied awkwardly.

Keera giggled again, "No problem. Now... If you'll excuse me for just a moment while I clean up shop." She then made herself busy cleaning up the surrounding tables that I thought looked perfectly clean, before blowing out the candles that sat in the windows to alert customers her shop was no longer open for the night.

I frowned as I turned up to meet Aang's eyes while she bustled around us. "Aang, have you had any luck with the shopkeepers?" I asked quietly.

Aang's smile dimmed and his laugh lines receded as I reminded him why we were at the docks in the first place.

"I saw Zuko earlier," I continued as Keera disappeared through the swinging door that I assumed led into the kitchen. I lowered my voice, "He hadn't turned up anything yet. We were hoping you had found something."

Aang withdrew his arm from me and sat back into the chair he'd been occupying earlier. "I talked to one person who said he'd seen a group of suspicious looking people in black clothing about an hour before the explosions."

My heart lurched with excitement as I took the seat beside him, "Where? How many of them?"

"He remembered five, but couldn't be sure." Aang paused and narrowed his grey eyes in thought. "He said he saw them walking through the ally that runs behind his tea shop. Which doesn't make any sense, because he said they were walking _away _from the shipyard. Not towards it."

"Maybe they'd already set the bombs and they were leaving to watch the explosion from a safer distance," I offered.

"Maybe..." Aang answered. "I'll have to talk to General Zaspher about the blasting jelly that was used."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Aang lowered his head and his voice, casting his eyes back to the kitchen door as he answered, "In the meeting, Zaspher said that the blasting jelly that was used to light the fires was of the same make that have been found at other attacks, right?"

I nodded, unsure of where Aang was going with this.

"Well... It that's the case then those barrels would have had to have been lit only moments before they went off. The life of that jelly isn't long enough to last an hour before going off." Aang was whispering by the time he finished.

I chewed on my lip, trying to make sense of the mystery. Suddenly, I wished my brother, the infamous sleuth and puzzle-piecer, were here to shed some light on the situation. But he was at home with Suki planning the next major project for the Southern Rehabilitation.

Aang sighed and leaned back in his chair. "It would have been a suicide mission for whoever lit those barrels," he said in his normal voice again as he ran his hands over his bald head, as he often did when he was worried.

I started to agree with him and suggest that we go speak with the shop keeper that had seen the group of suspicious people again, when suddenly a thought occurred to me. "Do you think... maybe the people who lit the barrels made it off the ship?"

Aang frowned and turned to me, "Maybe, I don't know." He narrowed his eyes at me in thought, "What are you getting at, Katara?"

I swallowed the fear the image of the dead man at the infirmary had re-ignited in me. "There was a man... at the infirmary..."

I proceeded in a hushed voice with wary eyes on the kitchen door. I told Aang about the mysterious man I had initially mistaken as a soldier. I told him about the haunting words he had spoken, and his injuries, and how I had watched his life slip between my fingers. I told him how I had been convinced, at the time, that his burns were not from trying to put out the fire, but by lighting it.

"We are Mangetsu..." I whispered again with a shudder running down my spine. I looked up to meet Aang's disturbed gaze. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Aang answered, "But I don't like it..." He got very quiet and his eyes were almost charcoal in color as he went deep in thought.

I thought about telling him about the note and the strange man that sent it to me... At this point I had almost convinced myself that it was somehow linked to this Mangetsu, whatever it was.

"Aang, there's something else..." I added quickly before I lost my nerve.

He looked up at me, waiting.

"Yesterday, when I was on my way to your room after breakfast, Ton Lee, the gardener—"

"Oh my, I can't believe I've been so rude!" Keera's voice came from the kitchen and she interrupted me as she came back through the kitchen door with a tray full of tarts and sweets.

I trailed off mid-sentence as she came over to our table and set the tray down. "Master Katara, please forgive my insufferable impoliteness. Would you like a sweet or a tart?"

"I..." I eyed the tray of sweets and then glanced back at Aang who was ogling the tarts. "I don't think so Keera. I'm not really hungry. And Aang and I really must be getting back to the palace..."

Keera giggled – a sound I was starting to get very annoyed with – "I can see Avatar Aang would like some more. Here, let me wrap some of these up for you to take with you!" She took a few of the tarts and darted across the room in a blur of maroon. She was back before I realized she'd even left. She placed a large package on the table proudly, "These should last you a day or so, at least," she said with a smile.

"Thank you, but I really can't accept these," Aang started, but Keera cut him off instantly.

"Nope, I insist. It's the least I can do since I couldn't help you with your investigation at all."

"She's right Aang," I added, trying not to let my anger be too apparent. "Let's just take the tarts and get back to the palace."

Aang started to argue again about how he wasn't raised to accept gifts. But before he could finish I grabbed the package off the table and literally pulled him out the door. "Thanks Keera," I muttered on our way out. "Your help has been appreciated."

Keera smiled her perfect toothy grin again and waved to us from her doorway as we made our way back out into the moonlit smoky night. "Anytime! Come again when those tarts run out!"

Aang pulled himself from my grasp easily and straightened out his tunic sleeve before answering with a smile that I instantly felt angry about. "You bet we will!" he shouted.

I grunted, exasperated that he'd been so easily won over and distracted with just a tray of tarts, and continued in the direction where I'd left my ostrich-horse. He caught up with me a few steps later, saying something about "how nice it is to meet decent people like her," and how he "didn't know anyone knew how to make tarts like that anymore."

I "uh-huh"d and continued walking, un-phased.

We walked a few minutes in silence. I was fuming as I thought about the woman baker and her un-necessarily generous behavior and Aang's complete unawareness. We made it to my ostrich-horse and Aang automatically helped me onto the animal. "I'll see you back at the palace?" he asked once I'd situated the reins where I wanted them.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"I just need to meet up with Zaspher's men I brought with me and see if they found anything," he paused thoughtfully and looked back towards the western docks. "So you said Zuko didn't find out anything new?"

"Nope," I answered. "He didn't."

Aang didn't seem to notice the clipped tone in my words. I liked to think that he was distracted with the situation, but something told me it was the package of tarts under his arm. This thought made me fume again.

"Oh, Katara... I almost forgot. What was it you wanted to tell me about earlier?"

I paused, mid-fume, and clenched my teeth. I didn't really feel like talking about it anymore, so I just shook my head and stared in the direction of the palace. "Nothing..."

Aang stood back with his arms across his chest disapprovingly, "Nothing? It sure didn't seem like nothing."

I groaned as I turned to face him, "Aang, really... It was nothing. I don't even remember what I was going to say anymore!" I crossed my own arms across my chest because I was annoyed. But as soon as I did it, I realized that it felt good. Huh... now that I thought about it, it was actually a little chilly outside. It must be getting ready to rain again.

I glanced up at the sky to see if I could see any rain clouds making their way back in, but I couldn't see well enough to discern smoke haze from clouds. Either way, the crescent moon was hidden from view and the chill in the air was causing little goose bumps to sprout all over my skin. I shivered and turned back towards the Palace. "It was nothing, Aang." I said over my shoulder as I clicked my heels into the animal's haunches. "I'll see back at the palace."

With that I took off in a fast trot towards the glow of the palace lights. I felt somewhat guilty and childish for my behavior, but for some reason I didn't really care.

I heard Aang call out behind me, but I was annoyed and confused and hurt. I was getting strange letters from strange men, healing burnt soldiers, watching the Resistance tear up the Fire Nation again, and learning about this Mangestu. So when Aang called out behind me, "I love you!" I kept the animal in the same pace towards the palace and for the first time in our relationship, I didn't answer back.

* * *

**A/N: **So, did you catch any of the symbolism?? I know it got a little angst there at the end. Sorry about that. I know this chapter had minimal love-doviness, but I hope it was enjoyed none-the-less. Lol, Poor Aang. I actually feel sorry for his cluelessness here. But trust me, there is a method to my madness!! And we will see Keera again in future chapters!!

As always, I love getting reviews! Thanks to all my wonderful wonderful reviewers who take the time to give me their input! It's greatly appreciated!!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **So... once again, it took me much longer than I would prefer to get this chapter written and posted. But, by now you all know the story, right? I work way too much and sleep way too little and never have time to do anything I want to! lol But I did manage to finish this before I go to work tonight!! So yeah for that!

I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed in the amount of reviews I'm getting for this story (or rather, lack thereof). There are tons of people reading it, I know because I've looked at the hits, but for some reason my readers don't deem it necessary to drop me a line and give me their feedback. I'd love to hear more from you all!! Let me know what you think about the story, especially after this chapter, which BTW is a little more dark and creepy that the first ones...

Anywho, enough of my complaining... Read on!

* * *

**.5.**

**In Dreams, You'll Find, we Wake**

It started raining again as I made my way back through the Royal City with the cool wind from the ocean guiding my path. Not a full out rain. More like an annoying drizzle that keeps your clothes wet and your hair stuck to your face. Either way, the weather seemed appropriate. The thunder that was rumbling in the far distance only hours ago was now closer and louder, and it matched the painful thud of my ostrich-horse's hooves as we sped along the trail. My heart felt heavy and sluggish in my chest, and my eyes stayed fixed on the dimly lit ground ahead. I didn't bother bending the rain out of my face. It was cold and numb as it trickled down the back of my neck and soaked through my thin clothing, but I didn't mind it much. In fact, it felt nice to be cold for once. It almost felt like home.

Despite this comfort, I shivered and hugged closer to the warmth of my ostrich horse as we descended into the familiar streets near the palace. When we finally stopped at the stables just inside the southern gates, the clouds rolled lazily across the crescent moon, blocking the light it had offered along my way. The steady drizzle that had followed me from the docks had turned into a rather steady downpour as I handed the animal off to the servants and hurried towards the palace.

More than anything, I was ready for a long hot bath and maybe a glass of wine. I wasn't in the mood for company of any sorts, so I snuck in through one of the servant's entrances in the kitchen, hoping that it was late enough that the chefs and waiters had all retired for the night.

I was lucky. The large stone kitchen was empty and quiet, and I had to be careful not to run into anything because it was also very dark. I felt my way along the cold countertops, using the intermittent streaks of lightening to gain my bearings ever so often. When my fingers brushed across what felt like a candle I seized it and began looking for a set of spark rocks. I opened drawer after drawer and was starting to wonder if all the chefs in the palace were firebenders – which would make my search rather futile – until my fingers finally found two small smooth stones I immediately identified as spark rocks.

I smiled and lit the candle, causing the saturated walls of crimson and gold to come alive around me. I felt somewhat warmer with the light of my little candle, and the flashes of light from the lightening outside didn't seem quite as stark and daunting. Feeling somewhat comforted, I started towards the hallway that would eventually lead to my room.

I was eager to shed my damp clothes that were still bloody from the infirmary, but when I passed the door that led to the royal wine cellar that was under the kitchen, I hesitated. Thoughtfully, I turned towards the door and placed one palm against the warm grain. My candle flickered, keeping time with the shadows that danced along the walls around me.

A rush of desire welled up inside of me and before I realized what I was doing, the lock was broken and covered in ice. Initially, I felt guilty, but as the door swung open and the earthy scents of wine and liquor welled up from the dark hole of the cellar, I knew Zuko wouldn't mind if I just took one golden decanter of red wine, and perhaps a flask of rum for the guards at the infirmary.

Before I could change my mind, I swallowed my hesitancy and began to descend the stairs as quietly as I could – using a mental picture of myself in a bubble bath with a glass of wine as my guide. The light from my candle continued to dance around me and my shadow fell across the wall beside me. It mirrored my steps with long inky black movements that flickered with the wind coming up from the cellar and suddenly I was reminded of the words in the letter I'd received that morning.

_We will seek you when shadows fall at night._

I shuddered and decided I'd better make this quick. I continued towards the thick scent of earth and wine, trying to keep my mind from wandering too far into its own paranoia. Initially, my thoughts went to Aang – as they usually did – but I immediately felt guilty again as I recalled how cold I'd been with him earlier. So I tried to think about other things, which only served to allow pictures from the day to flood the forefront of my mind. Mysterious notes, burning ships, blood spurting from the mouth of a dead charred face... I shook my head of these thoughts and tried to remain focused on my mission. Wine... Wine and a bubble bath... Wine and a bubble bath and a long dreamless sleep...

When I reached the bottom, I searched through the darkness that surrounded me and headed straight to the first set of shelving that sat directly at the foot of the stairs. I grabbed the first decanter I saw and stole a whiff of its fine flavors before deciding it would serve its purpose.

Quickly, I scanned the cellar as far my candlelight would reach before venturing towards the side I thought I remembered the rum being on. My steps were quiet in the soft dirt floor, yet somehow they seemed to echo around me like a giant bass drum. Or, perhaps that was the steady crescendo of thunder in the background of my mind, each crash louder and closer than the last.

I passed row and row of shelving, my eyes darting around me, picking up on every shadow my candle cast. In the starkness of the black cellar, my candle was like a bright star. I clutched to it like it was the only light source on the planet. But, the light didn't reach far before it was swallowed up by the pitch dark room. As hard as I tried, I could only see a few steps in front of me, which meant a large majority of the cellar stayed hidden in the black cloak of darkness.

My breathing, choppy and uneven, was the only sound accompanying the beating reverberation of my thunder-footsteps as I stepped my way past the rows of shelves, hoping that each next row would be labeled "Rum." I picked up my pace when I heard something that sounded like a rat scurrying in the corner.

After what seemed like hours, I finally reached the shelves full of rum. My skin was moistened in perspiration that had nothing to do with the heat and my chest ached from the thundering of my heart against my ribcage. Again, I grabbed the first bottle I saw, but this time I didn't even bother to sample the aroma before I took off towards the stairwell again. I made my way back along the rows of shelves, making my steps wide and determined while I tried to tell myself there was absolutely nothing to be afraid of in this dark silent wine cellar.

I swallowed against the dry lump in the back of my throat and quickened my steps. I tried very hard to keep my thoughts focused on my wine and bubble bath, but my mind was being particularly stubborn and then, a thought suddenly occurred to me. _Perhaps no one would hear me scream if something did happen to me down here._ I found myself wishing very badly that I'd ignored my desire to sink into a bubble bath with a glass of the palace's finest. A clap of thunder shook the earth walls of the cellar and again, I picked up my pace until I was practically running for the exit.

But I realized, as I was searching for my exit, that my surroundings seemed oddly and suddenly unfamiliar to me. I was running in the direction I'd come from, right? I skidded to a stop and searched my surroundings closer. This was where the bottom of the stairs should be. I hitched my breath and extended my candle further, looking for my exit with wide searching eyes. I shivered and tried to keep hysteria at bay. Where were the stairs?!

"_Kataraaaaa..."_

I jumped and a muffled cry escaped my lips. I stood so still I thought my muscles had literally frozen. It was only then that I realized how low the temperature had dropped in the underground cellar. I could see my ragged shallow breaths condense in the cold air around me.

"_Kataraaaa..."_

My heart raced beneath my ribs and I could hardly fill my lungs anymore. I felt like I was drowning. Somehow I managed to shout. "Who's there?!"

"_We are Mangestu..."_

I spun around and thrust my little candle out, trying in vain to see where the sultry deep voice was coming from. I gripped the two bottles of alcohol closer, aware of the several gallons of liquid around me that I could use in my defense if I needed to. A deafening clap of thunder resounded throughout the cellar and I jumped again. The flask of rum tucked under my right arm fell to the dirt floor and shattered on impact. I didn't remember seeing any windows in the large room, but somehow the cellar suddenly lit up with the lightening that followed.

The shadows around me that had seemed small and insignificant in the light of my candle seemed large and intrusive against the white background of the lightening streaks. I watched, horrified as they began morphing into the silhouettes of people.

"Who's there?!" I screamed again. "Who are you?!"

I didn't get an answer, but I could hear their breathing and their scent was musky and overtaking. I felt like a block of ice and when they started crawling towards me every cell in my body felt nothing but cold hard fear.

"_You are not alone, Kataraaaaa..."_

"Stay back!" I yelled as I bended the rum from the floor and used it as an admonition to back up my verbal warning. It was then that I realized my limbs were useful to me again and I could see the stairs I'd searched so hard for.

The only thought I could process was _GET OUT! _I sent several rum ice daggers hurling in the direction of the approaching shadows and I ran.

And, to my horror, the shadows advanced through my attack effortlessly and followed me towards the stairs. Their movements were quick and jerky and I could feel their dark cold fingers reaching for me as I began sprinting towards the opening of the cellar. I couldn't get out of that hole in the ground fast enough!

"_Katara, you are not alone..." _The closest one moaned.

My throat released a muffled cry and I ran harder than I could ever remember running. Somewhere in my escape I had pulled the wine out of the decanter and used it to whip at my attackers. But my assaults again seemed to go right through the black figures. When I finally reached the stairs, I took them two at a time. Long cold fingers grabbed for me out of thin air, and I struggled against their grasp, tripping up the flight of stairs until I finally stumbled to the top.

It was then that another streak of lightening pierced the sky and lit up the kitchen in a blinding white light. And before I could stop myself, I plowed into the silhouette of a person standing just at the open door of the cellar.

We slammed to the kitchen floor in a tangle of limbs, and the dark red wine I'd been using for my attacks saturated us. My immediate thoughts were still focused on escape and I struggled to get up, my feet slipping against the now wet stone floor. The figure below me remained grounded and I screamed and pounded against the figure's chest as cold wet arms started wrapping around me and holding me down.

"_Kataraaaa..."_

"Let me go!" I cried.

"_Katara, what's wrong?"_

I continued to struggle against the figure – a man now, I had somehow managed to identify he had a man's voice. His arms were hard and wet and tight around my shoulders, pinning my arms to my sides and keeping me from bending. I looked up to see my attacker's face just as another lightening bolt lit up the room.

"_Katara, are you okay?"_

I was numb.

A scar. A long ugly scar stretched down the left side of the man's face... From the edge of his black hairline, through the tanned skin of his forehead, across the deep blue set of his eye, and ending at the edge of his cold hard mouth...

"_Sh... It's okay..."_

I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. I acted on pure instinct.

I head butted the man as hard as I could.

He cried out in pain and immediately released his grasp on me. His hands flew to his face to catch the torrents of bright red blood that were now streaming from his nose.

I immediately took the opportunity to fly out of reach as I backpedaled from the man as fast as I could. I backed against a kitchen cabinet and pulled some moisture out of the air for defense. He was blocking my exit to the rest of the palace, where he was sprawled out on the ground with a shocked expression on his hardened face.

"_Katara, why?!" _

I stared at the man fearfully. "Who are you?!" I demanded. My hands shook, but I was somehow able to keep the water around me steady.

I could barely make out his features in the dimly lit kitchen. The outline of his face turned towards me. "What's wrong with you?" he insisted desperately. Somehow, his voice held a certain concern and familiarity in it I didn't understand. He moaned then, and I could barely see his hands massaging the bridge of his nose. "Uh, I think you broke my nose."

I was getting frustrated, my fear being replaced with disgust and annoyance. "Answer me! Who are you?" I demanded again.

The man turned towards me again, the dim outline of his body fully turned in my direction now. A loud crack of thunder resonated around us. "Katara, it's me!" he answered through the rumble. "It's Aang!"

"Wha...?"

The man groaned again, "My nose..."

"I... I don't..." My head spun. My hands shook. I was so sure... there was the scar... and the shadows... the cold fingers... the voices...

The brightest streak of lightening yet lit up the kitchen at just the moment I looked over to the man. I realized there were tears pooled in my eyes, but there was no mistaking the picture I saw.

The soft gray eyes pleading with me across the room, the lean familiar muscles in his chest and shoulders, the worried set of his jaw, the bright blue tattoos winding around his arms and hands... His face was covered in blood and his hand was still holding his nose firmly, but there was no mistaking that face.

Relief flooded over me so strongly that it knocked the breath out of me. "Aang..." I breathed as the tears in my eyes spilled down my cheeks. I sobbed. "Oh, Aang..."

He reacted instantly and was at my side before I realized he had even moved. His free arm wound around me protectively and pulled me into his chest. "Sh... Katara, it's okay. You're okay..."

I sobbed into his chest, wetting his shirt with my tears. "Aang..." I cried. "Aang, I'm so sorry. I thought... I didn't know..."

He hushed me again and started rocking back and forth soothingly. He kept whispering in my ear over and over again. "It's okay... It's okay... You're safe..."

I clung to his chest tighter than I could ever remember. He was wet and cold with rainwater and the wine I'd splashed all over us, but I could feel the warmth of his skin beneath his clothing. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, wanting desperately to feel his skin against mine. "So sorry... Sorry..." I sobbed.

His breath was warm on my ear. "It's okay... I'm here... You're safe..."

"Aang... Aang..." I wasn't doing well trying to put together coherent sentences so I was just content to mumble his name over and over again as I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me into his lap.

"It's okay, Katara..." he whispered. He wound his arms underneath me and suddenly I realized he was standing. He started carrying me out of the kitchen. "Sh... You're safe now... I'm here..."

"You're not alone..."

* * *

_In a dark ally, the rain beat down in sheets. It soaked through the black cloak of the lone figure huddled against building. The streets were silent, save for the rumble of thunder and beating of rain drops. Cold black eyes pierced the night, waiting... _

"_Where's the shipment?" came a gruff voice._

"_You're late," the figure replied._

"_It's raining," the voice answered. "I need the boxes, now. Did you finish the order or not?"_

_The figure in the black cloak stared out at the hollow streets. "The Avatar is on our trail." _

_The voice growled. "She told him."_

"_I told you that she would," the figure replied hotly. "It was only a matter of time."_

"_It's no matter," the voice answered. "It won't be long now." _

"_And you are so sure that she will surrender, are you?" the figure questioned. _

"_Soon, she will be one of us..." the voice hissed. "She already is one of us!" _

"_Don't be so sure, brother," the figure suddenly turned and black eyes stared out from under the cloak's black hood. "This one will not be an easy turn." _

_The voice snarled, "Were any of them easy?" _

"_Watch yourself," the figure warned. "Be careful."_

"_It is the Avatar who should be careful." The voice moved farther away into the rain, "Have the shipment ready by sunrise. We need those boxes."_

"_Of course, brother..."_

* * *

I awoke with a start. I was lying in the satin sheets of my bedding with a cool damp washcloth over my eyes and I couldn't exactly remember how I had gotten there. My head ached and I felt like I was in a fog. I wondered briefly just how much of that wine I had consumed during my bubble bath.

I pulled the cloth from my eyes, blinked several times, and allowed myself a few seconds to adjust to the dim room. I sat up and immediately felt the throbbing in my head intensify. Quietly, I surveyed my surroundings. The rain streaked windows were dark with the starless sky and low lit candles cast the room in a dull soft glow that illuminated corners that would normally be pitch black this time of night. I vaguely remembered asking that they not be blown out before I fell asleep – and that's when I remembered the cellar and what happened in the kitchen.

Aang was sprawled out in one of the arm chairs on the far side of the room, his head hung heavily over the back of the chair and his feet propped up on the ottoman in front of him. His shirt was bundled behind his head as a makeshift pillow, which left his chest bare. I marveled at how the candlelight made his pale skin seem to glow as it flickered across the muscles in his chest and stomach. His arms were crossed across his chest that was rising and falling slowly to the cadence of his steady breathing. His eyes were closed, his mouth set into a worried line that matched the little "v" shape that was scrunched between his eyebrows.

I felt a deep guilt settle over me when I saw the crooked bend in the bridge of his nose and the deep purple bruising there and under his eyes. My headache wasn't from the wine and the bubble bath – after all, I hadn't had wine and a bubble bath this evening, had I? – it was from pounding my forehead into Aang's nose when I was convinced he was a murderer with a scar across the left side of his face.

I had a sudden urge to place my hands over his face and heal the broken cartilage and blood vessels, but I was too entranced by his simple presence in my room to move. He was like my personal guardian, watching over me. I vaguely remembered pleading with him to stay earlier, because I couldn't bear the thought of spending the rest of the night alone. For several long quiet minutes I watched the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest and I wondered what he was dreaming about.

Suddenly, as if by magic, he stirred and his eyes fluttered open. He yawned and stretched his arms up over his head before catching my gaze. He smiled at me, his silvery grey eyes distant and wistful, as if he thought he were still asleep. I returned his smile and suddenly he sprung into action, as if my smile reminded him that he was no longer dreaming.

"Katara!" he cried as he quickly stood up and came to kneel by my bed. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"Aang," I continued smiling at him. "I'm fine. Just a little headache..."

He placed a hand over my forehead and I winced.

"Yeah, you've got a pretty big knot..." he observed. His eyes were full of concern as he met my gaze again. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Trust me," I replied as I pulled his palm from my head. "I'm just fine." I paused and sympathetically reached a hand towards his nose. "I wish I could say the same for you though."

I knew he was trying to look strong for me, but I noticed him wince as my fingers rested against the crooked bend in the bridge of his nose. "It's fine, really," he said softly. "The bruising will probably be gone in a day or two." He chuckled as he leaned into the side of the bed, bringing our faces closer. "I've had worse."

His features were warm and soft in the candle light. I smiled humorlessly at him. "Trust me, I know."

He paused, his face cast once again into his worried stare. "Are you sure you're okay?" He reached for the washcloth that had been over my eyes and laid it on the bedside stand. "You really had me worried."

I nodded softly, "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm really sorry about earlier. I..." I hesitated as images of the cellar tried to invade my mind again. I shuddered and shook the pictures from my head. "I don't know what came over me back there...I thought... I thought you were someone else."

He smiled and gestured at his nose. "Obviously..."

I returned his smile and began pushing my bedding to the foot of my bed. "Well, whether you want me to or not," I replied as I started climbing from the bed, "I'm going to heal what I can."

He must have known better than to argue with me, because I was rather surprised when he didn't move to try and stop me. He just watched silently as I went into the bathroom and returned a few minutes later with a small bowl of water. He was still kneeling at the side of the bed when I came back.

I sat the bowl on the bedside table and patted the edge of the bed closest to me.

"Katara, I really don't think..."

"Aang, please," I argued before he could resist. "It would really make me feel better if you'd just let me heal it."

He eyed me skeptically for a few more seconds before finally standing up from his kneeling position. "If you insist..." he replied softly as he took a seat on the edge of my bed.

"I do," I maintained as I pulled some of the water from the bowl and settled my hands over his nose.

He closed his eyes and I went to work on stitching back together the broken cartilage. It only took a few minutes, and when I was done the crooked bump was gone and the bruises were only light shadows under his eyes. I felt much better.

"There..." I said as I bended the water back into the bowl. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

He opened his eyes and smiled. "Thank you, Katara."

"I think _I_ should be the one thanking _you_," I replied softly. "I'm sorry about—"

His fingers were suddenly against my lips and he was shushing me and pulling me into a hug. "I don't want to hear another apology," he whispered firmly. "I'm just glad you're alright." He wrapped his arms around my back and rested his head against my chest, his ear pressed just over my heart.

I sighed and rested my hands on his head, running my fingers over his scalp, "Thank you for staying..." I whispered before I kissed the top of his head, on the blue of his tattoo. "I'm glad you're here."

"You asked me to stay," he said simply.

"I know..."

We stayed in our embrace for a few quiet minutes. I continued running my fingers over his head and the tops of his shoulders and he kept his ear pressed against my chest and his hands were soft and warm against my back. I paused as a thought suddenly occurred to me...

"Aang?"

He started a little from the sound of my voice, but didn't move from his position. "Hm?"

I smiled. "How did I get into my nightgown?"

He froze, and then slowly pulled his face up to meet mine. I tried my best to look demanding, but I couldn't keep from smiling.

"The women servants, of course," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Of course..." I chuckled.

He grinned sheepishly. "They helped you change in the bathroom. I stayed out here."

I returned his smile and leaned down to kiss him lightly, "Have I told you lately how amazing you are?"

He relaxed and smiled against my lips, "You could mention it more."

"You..." I whispered into his mouth before capturing him in another kiss. "...are the most wonderfully amazing..." He eagerly sought my lips out before I could finish, so I allowed him to breathe his kiss into me before I pulled away softly, "... man I know..." I whispered.

"And I love you."

He gazed into my eyes for a second before pulling me into his lap and catching my lips in another mind-numbing kiss. My senses went into overdrive as Aang's essence flooded me. His hands, his lips, his eyes... They were all I could think about. The shadows, the voices, everything that happened earlier that night was a distant second to intoxicating feeling he put me in.

I curled into his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down onto the bed with me. He obliged willingly as I ran my hands along the contours of his bare chest, delighted in the way he shuddered under my fingers. I allowed the kisses to get deeper and when my head began to swim, I pulled away.

"If you keep that up," he groaned and lay out on his back, pulling me against his chest. "I may never leave."

I smiled and snuggled up against him closer, "Then you should just stay."

He didn't say anything right away, he just eyed me suspiciously. "You want me to stay?"

I thought about that for a second, and realized that I couldn't bear the thought of him leaving. I looked around the room quickly and shuddered at the candle-lit shadows being cast from the various furniture pieces around the room. I turned back to him and whispered, "Will you?"

I knew I was asking for a big step in our relationship. Although we'd spent countless nights together during our travels around the world, we'd never shared a bed before... in a closed room... with candles lit everywhere...

He looked at me thoughtfully. "Katara, if that's what you really want." He smiled. "I'll stay."

I smiled as a warm comforting feeling began pooling in my chest. "Thank you."

He kissed my forehead softly and then carefully pulled the satin sheets back up around us.

I sighed as I laid my head back up against his chest and his arms found their way around my waist again. I felt incredibly safe and untouchable.

He breathed deeply, and I listened as his lungs filled with the air. "I love you, Katara," he murmured on exhalation, his words deep and smooth.

I closed my eyes. "I love you, too," I whispered before falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.

* * *

**A/N: ** I'm pretty happy with it, in general. There are a few parts towards the end that I'm a little "meh" about. But oh well... I can't wait to hear what you all think about it! So don't forget to drop me a line in a review!!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **So yes, surprisingly, I _am_ still alive and kicking. Things have been hectic for me lately, as most of you know, but they are getting better. And thanks to a few earnest readers, I was able to get my butt in gear and write this chapter! And I apologize for the change in the feel of the story. For the record the script and plot were planned from the start, but the feel of this chapter is probably more due the fact that I am going through a divorce right now (which is where the title came from, lol)

I know it's been a while since I last updated, so I might suggest going back and skimming the previous chapters to remember where we left off in the story line. And without further adieu...

**.6.**

**A Woman's wrath, for which, Hell hath no fury**

_In the dawn of early morning the dew beads along cold wet grass and the air smells of earth and rain. Day starts with the warm hues of orange and yellow as the sun peeks over the volcanic rim surrounding the Royal City. Somewhere a hawk caws. _

_Above the palace grounds a lone cloaked figure rests unnoticed on the thick inner palace walls. Workers mill about below, starting their morning routine without preamble. Black eyes scan their efforts in silence, searching... _

_With great skill that only few in this world possess, the figure waits rigidly. The only movement comes from the slight coastal wind that ripples the black cloak around a piercing fierce face. _

_Suddenly, a kitchen chef comes into view, munching on a piece of bread and talking casually with the neighboring gardener. The eyes watch patiently._

_Minutes pass. Slow quiet breaths pass the time as the gardener and kitchen servant chat about the proceeding storm, gesturing to broken tree limbs and scattered debris around the grounds. Finally, a laugh, a wave, and the gardener slowly makes his way down the aisle of red fire lilies that line the gate. The chef stands just outside his kitchen door, still savoring his bread. _

_A haunting smile forms along a cold hard mouth. The voice is smooth and beautiful in nature as it melts along the air around it. Fitting for the lips it is drawn from._

"_It starts..." _

_A breath follows, easy and deep as it washes over the morning humidity. The air is suddenly electrified with an intense source of power as the last bite of the chef's bread falls to the ground. Like a puppet, he makes his way silently to the palace walls. The gardener never hears the struggle..._

I awoke with a start. The sound of my quick uneven breaths startled me and it took several seconds to realize that the shadowy fingers reaching out of the night to grab me had only been in my head. It was morning and the only fingers grabbing me were attached to the warm arm around my waist that belonged to Aang.

_Easy Katara... Just a dream..._

I took a few deep breaths and stilled the wild beating of my heart. Aang grunted and nuzzled his face into the back of my shoulder. I smiled, thinking he had woken up as well, but seconds later his breathing returned to its slow even pace. I allowed myself a few moments of pleasure, just basking in the feeling of being so close to him. His breath on my skin, his warm chest along my back, the tightness of his grip around my hips... These weren't things I got to enjoy often. In fact I couldn't remember the last time I had awoken next to him.

However, try as I might to only allow these few thoughts to occupy my head, others drifted in as well. One in particular...

_What is going on in the Fire Nation? _

That mixed with the Mangetsu, the Resistance, and other such things made it very difficult to think about simpler matters such as Aang's presence in my bed. (Since when did that become simple?)

These thought filled moments wore on and my room began to glow with the warm red hues of the sheer curtains over the eastern windows. Finally I decided that, in order to clear my head, some waterbending was in order.

Reluctantly, I managed to slip out of Aang's grasp without waking him. I couldn't resist resting my lips lightly against his forehead and whispering in his ear ever so softly. "I love you Avatar." I kissed him one last time just above his ear, where the black roots of his hairline were barely noticeable.

He smiled in his sleep and mumbled something I couldn't understand before burying his face in the pillow I had been laying on. Seconds later he was snoring.

I giggled softly as I headed into the bathroom to splash some water on my face and dress into my typical Watertribe attire. I felt comfortable in the light royal blue fabric and the itch to bend intensified just from putting it on. Silently I snuck out of my room, leaving Aang to snore through the sunrise alone.

Most people find the front decorative royal gardens in the outer ring of the Palace the most appealing. These gardens are lush with foliage year round and gardeners are constantly tending to the thousands of red and yellow flowers that bloom in all corners of the huge spaces. Paths meander through these flowers and connect in intervals, where usually a giant stone fountain stands bubbling and flowing. These particular gardens, most notably known as the Royal Arboretums, are open to the upper class citizens of the Fire Nation – and anyone else who can afford the steep admission price – as they lie outside the inner walls of the Palace.

People from all over are constantly enjoying the different foliage and exotic birds that the flowers attract – which means that, while these gardens are stunning, they are usually very crowded. So, I had taken it upon myself a few years ago to hunt for my own private area on the Palace grounds, away from the busy bodies that always occupied these splendors.

As the usual morning babble of the Palace became a distant murmur, I stepped around the last border of Fire Lilies and turned towards the old building near the very back of the inner ring. I hadn't visited the garden yet on this particular trip to the Capital, so I was extra eager to bask in the solitude of my special place.

The building had once been used as a meeting chamber for the War Council during Sozin's first few years of the war. It was housed away from the Palace, hidden behind a grove of yellow and green fruit trees, so that Avatar Roku would be none the wiser to his meetings of death and destruction. Or so Fire Lord Sozin had thought...

I could imagine the old structure being beautiful and magnificent in those days, its small columns glinted in gold with red velvet curtains lining the arched windows. I'd only dared to go inside once, and the interior had had black marble floors that after a hundred years had cracked and warped. Moss and grass grew in several places and the ceiling had had a gaping hole in one corner of the room. The curtains had been only shreds of burnt looking fabric, and the giant table in the middle looked like it had been reduced to firewood long ago.

Images of war meetings had raced through my mind, and then I had realized that in that very building, Sozin had plotted the destruction of the Air Nomads. I had shuddered and raced out, and hadn't gone inside since.

So, several years later, I snuck by the building, keeping my eyes on the break in the ground just past the far corner. And as soon as I dipped past the low lying branches of the cherry blossom tree and entered the clearing beyond, I exhaled, instantly at ease.

This was my special place.

It was a small open meadow, surrounded by cherry blossom trees and simple shrubs that filled the air with the most wonderful floral scents. The grass always seemed greener and lusher, and I was always surprised at how much cooler it was than the rest of the Palace grounds.

And then there was the water.

A river, in fact. It ran through my secret hideaway and actually meandered all the way to the palace. Where it originated from, I'd never been really sure. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that it existed and it was my most favorite part of the Fire Nation Palace.

I inhaled the scents of the small space and my mind became a blank slate almost instantly. The water called to me right away, and even without the moon's effect, I could not – nor did I have the desire to – resist. Without taking the time to undress, I waded in waist deep and let the water swirl around me. Slowly, I started moving with it, allowing my body to follow the commands of my element. Suddenly, I was completely content and the images of the past few days were miles away.

I eventually became part of the water, and I could no longer detect where I ended and it began. I moved with my element, feeling its push and pull and listening to its desires. I supposed this is what made me a Master. When I listened to the water, it in turn listened to me, so that... CRACK... I could whip it across an open field and slice through a small boulder without ever thinking twice.

I continued to glide along with desires of the water and it listened to my every command. A whip here, a wave there, a few forms in the middle. I perspired from the effort, but my mind was too busy listening to the water to hear the complaining of my aching muscles. It'd been a while since I was in combat, but which each crack of my element, I pictured the scarred man's face at the end of my whip. Then I remembered the baker, Keera, and gave her a few ice daggers. Harmless training, I assure you.

After what felt like only minutes, the water began to flow slower and separate itself from me. I obliged – rather unwillingly – and allowed my element to return to the river. For several seconds I stood in the middle of the flow, feeling the energy of the water dissipate around me. When my mind was disconnected enough, it registered with me that my stomach was growling. I frowned and looked down, running my fingers across my abdomen absentmindedly. I haven't eaten breakfast.

I was standing there, contemplating whether or not I should wake Aang before heading to the dining hall, when suddenly I had an overwhelming feeling that I was being watched. The warrior in me kept me calm, and I quickly scanned the meadow's edge for any sign of intrusion. I saw none, and the feeling passed as quickly as it had surfaced.

Within the span of a few minutes I was within sight of the Palace again, though I couldn't shake the feeling that my special place wasn't so secret anymore. I was irritated that some servant had probably happened upon it and made it their own secret hideaway.

I was contemplating this new situation and was only a few steps away from the Palace entrance when I heard an all too familiar giggle coming from inside the kitchen entry around the corner. I shook my head and listened closer, thinking – praying – that I must have been hearing things.

But there it was again.

"I've never thought of it that way. I guess you do things different here at the Palace!"

I growled, narrowed my eyes and took off towards the voice more irritated than before. _If that baker has shown up at the Palace..._ I couldn't finish the thought before I rounded the corner and came nose to chin with Keera.

She jumped back, startled, but quickly regained her bearings. "Master Katara! What a surprise!" she said.

I tried to smile for the sake of the servant she had been talking to before I interrupted. "Keera... I didn't expect to find you here."

She grinned and my smile turned into a scowl of sorts. "I was just stopping by to see if you and Avatar Aang enjoyed my tarts I sent home with you."

"It's barely morning Keera," I replied with a fake smile. "Unfortunately we haven't had the opportunity to enjoy your delicious tarts yet."

She opened her mouth to reply, but I quickly wrapped my arm around her shoulders and tried to steer her towards the Palace gates. "We will definitely let you know when we have had the chance to enjoy them. Now you must be very busy, I wouldn't want to keep you away from your shop."

She resisted and, try as I might, she was still several inches taller than me and unfortunately she used her height to her advantage. "But Katara..." she paused and glanced at the servant who only replied with a shrug, "It's not morning. It's well past noon."

I hesitated before answering, _- Of course it's still morning. I woke up at sunrise and I've been gone, what? Maybe an hour at tops. – _I glanced up at the sky, gauging the sun, and was surprised by what I saw. The little she-devil was right. The sun was high in the sky and slightly to the west. _How long was I waterbending? Surely not long enough to skip two meals!_

Keera grinned again. "See?"

I frowned, ready to argue reason, before my stomach protested loudly.

"You must have just lost track of the time."

Suddenly, I found myself being steered by Keera back towards the kitchen entry. "Come on Katara." She giggled again and my frown deepened. "You must be starving, I can hear your stomach growling from here!" She pulled me through the door and I found myself sitting in the adjoining dining room without any recollection of making a decision to go there.

"You just sit tight," Keera beamed that perfect smile, her onyx eyes shining excitedly. "I'll be right back with some lunch."

Before I could open my mouth to object, she whirled around and disappeared in a rush of maroon and red. I sighed, defeated.

Several minutes later – though it seemed like it should have taken longer – she returned with a tray full of assorted goods. Pastries, cheeses, fruits, and nuts. Goblets of wine and glasses of juice. Bowls overflowing with soups and spreads. It definitely wasn't your typical run of the mill lunch.

I eyed her suspiciously. "Thanks Keera... This is quite a spread."

She winked at me – _what a killer wink _– and sat down in the seat across from mine.

An awkward silence filled the dining hall as I eyed the tray of assortments. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of diving into the first thing I saw, but it all smelled and looked so good and I was so hungry. My stomach rumbled loudly. I looked up to see Keera smiling at me and before I knew what I was doing I was shoveling food onto my plate like I hadn't eaten in days.

She giggled. I scowled around a piece of bread.

"Quite an appetite you have there Master Katara," she observed with a grin – or was that a smirk?

"Mm," I acknowledged.

Keera watched me gorge myself on her tray of goodies, but I barely noticed her. All I could really think about was the food. It tasted so amazing. Sweet and buttery. Spicy and hot. Smooth and rich. It was unlike anything I'd ever eaten.

"Better slow down," Keera continued. She leaned across the table slightly, narrowing her eyes ever so faintly. "Wouldn't want you to _choke_."

The word left her lips – CHO-KA – and almost instantly a lump formed in my throat. I tried to cough, but the lump wouldn't dislodge. I reached for a glass of juice, but my arm didn't seem to want to move. I looked up at Keera. Was she still smirking?

"Katara?"

The lump dislodged and I choked the food out of my throat onto my plate. Keera and I both looked up to see Aang rushing to the table. "Katara!"

I coughed, rubbing the front of my throat and glaring at Keera through watery eyes. "She... She choked me!"

Aang was rubbing his hands across my shoulders soothingly, "What do you mean?"

"Her!" I erupted, throwing an accusing finger at the flirtatious baker. "She tried to choke me!"

Aang glanced up and seemed to notice the girl for the first time since entering the room. "Keera?"

"Yes Keera!" I coughed again and Aang absentmindedly handed me a glass of juice.

Keera smiled that devastatingly perfect grin and put on the most innocent look she could muster – which looked pretty damn innocent. "Katara, I think you are confused. You must have choked on a piece of food."

She turned to Aang, her expression distraught. "I told her to slow down Avatar Aang. But she just kept shoveling in the food."

"No," I objected, standing to my feet. "You put some kind of hoax on me and then choked me with your food!"

Aang turned to me and put his hands on my shoulders, "Katara, I think you need to calm down. You've had a really hard couple of days, maybe you need some rest."

"What?!"

I could feel my temper getting hotter. I grit my teeth. "I don't need any rest."

Aang tried to soothe me again, but I interrupted.

"She tried to kill me!"

Keera sat silently, her eyes portraying all the innocence of a newborn. Aang looked at her apologetically – apologetically?! – "I'm so sorry about this Keera. Katara's been under a lot of stress lately."

"It's not a problem, Aang." Keera smiled again, and for the moment Aang didn't seem to remember that I was sitting right below him fuming. His hand remained on my shoulders and suddenly I felt like his child instead of his girlfriend. "I'm sure she just needs some rest."

"I don't need any rest!" I repeated. I turned to Aang, "She tried to kill me, Aang!"

Aang stood there confused for a second.

"She tried to choke me to death!" I yelled. I shrugged his hand off my shoulder, frustrated – no, not frustrated, _infuriated_ – that he wasn't believing me. "Aren't you going to do anything about it?!"

"Why would Keera try to kill you, Katara?" I was taken back by his sudden outburst. "That's nonsense!"

I was so mad I couldn't see straight, much less form a comprehensible retort. Before I could yell the obscenities that were going through my mind, Ms. Innocent stood up and excused herself from the room.

"I think you need to diffuse _the situation,_" she said.

"It was nice seeing you again, Katara," she said.

"It was nice seeing you again too, Avatar Aang," she said.

Suddenly, she stopped and spun around with a smile. "Oh, I almost forgot! The Full Moon Festival is coming up." Her eyes sparkled. "You should come Katara, people would _die_ to see you in action during a full moon."

Then she winked and left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I know, I know.... Long overdue!!

* * *

**.7.**

**For Blue, I Think, has Always Been my Favorite Color**

"_I'm afraid everything's finally catching up with her, it's just too much for her to handle anymore_."

I scowled... I can handle things just fine, thank you very much.

"I _should have seen the sign... she's under a ton of stress_." A loud sigh. "_This is probably my fault_."

Of course it's your fault! You wouldn't believe me about your precious bakertrying to _kill me!_

"_Do you think you could just talk to her? Maybe take her out of the palace for a while to get away from things._.." A pause. "..._you know, for a girls' day or something_."

Right, because a girls' day will solve all of my problems right now...

My ears felt hot and I knew this meant that my face must still be red as a fire flake. I glared at the door of my room that lead out into the hallway (the same door Aang and Mai were currently outside of, talking about me like I couldn't hear them...). I wanted so badly to throw a water whip through that door and show Aang just how well I could _handle things_.

I could barely hear Mai's muffled response, her voice too quiet to hear – unlike Aang's, whose voice was tense and elevated from stress. Suddenly, the door opened and Mai stepped inside, her face white and perfect as always. I heard Aang's exiting footsteps down the hall and I was glad that he'd at least had the sense to give me my space for now. I was sure I had Mai to thank for that.

She didn't say anything, – not unusual – as she closed the door quietly and stared at me behind long black bangs. Mai wasn't usually the easily readable type, but at that particular moment, I knew exactly what she was thinking...

"Don't look at me like that," I snapped. "I know what happened down there." I turned away from her and sat down at the vanity across the room. I heard her robes shuffle behind me as I made myself busy pulling a comb through my hair.

"I'm not judging." I saw her shrug out of the corner of my eye.

"Then why are you here?" I asked hotly. "Come to convince me to come to my senses and make up with Aang?"

"No."

I grunted as the comb caught a tangle. "He obviously thinks I'm crazy."

_He thinks I'm crazy... _

The realization didn't surprise me. It just made me more determined to show that baker for what she really was... A liar and a fake.

Mai sighed behind me and I could almost feel the rolling of her eyes.

I spun around, scrutinizing her. "Do you think that too?"

"Not at all."

"Hm..." I continued pulling the comb through my hair with more force than it probably required as Mai remained silent.

Finally, she spoke up, "How do you think she did it?"

I wasn't sure if she was being cynical, so I just turned back to the mirror and for a few seconds I didn't respond. In fact, I didn't even know the answer. How _did _she do it?

She must have put something in the food, something that I wouldn't detect right away. Maybe a seed, or a pit. What was it that I was eating when I starting choking?

I didn't hear her move, but when I turned back around to respond, Mai was sitting on the edge of my bed across the room. I sometimes forgot that she was a skilled fighter when we first met, so at times she still startled me with her stealth.

I regained my bearings quickly, "Look, that... that... _girl_-"

"Keera."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, whatever... _Keera_ tried to choke me to death! I don't know _how_ she did it, I just know that she _did_!"

Mai gave me a long pensive look that almost made me uncomfortable. I straightened my shoulders and stared back with equal vigor, ready to defend myself again.

Suddenly, she shrugged and lowered her gaze casually, "I believe you."

I stood up, gesturing with my comb emphatically. "Mai, I saw the look in her eyes! She knew exactly what she was doing. She was..." I paused, hand on my hip and comb aiming at Mai's relaxed expression. "Wait... You... you _believe_ me?"

Mai nodded, "Sure."

I lowered back onto my bench and the comb in my hand fell to my lap. Possibilities ran through my mind of any type of game she might be playing to gain my trust, but then I realized that this was Mai. She was always upfront and rarely ever had ulterior motives. In short, I trusted her.

She chuckled and stood from her position. "Don't look so surprised." She walked over to me and pulled the comb out of my lap and set it back on the vanity. "Crazier things have happened. It's obvious she has a thing for Aang. Why wouldn't I believe you?"

"I..." I paused and let this information sink in. I peered up at my friend, "You think Keera wants Aang?"

"I think you need to get out of the Palace for a while," Mai responded simply.

I sighed. It was true. Keera was trying to get rid of me so that she could get to Aang, wasn't she? Clearly, she'd somehow already gained his trust and friendship. I scowled again and felt my face heating back up. How hadn't I seen it before? How dare she! How dare _he!_

Mai's laughter startled me.

"Don't tell me you're actually worried that Aang has feelings for her?"

I looked up into Mai's humored face, "You don't?"

Mai smirked, "Not likely."

"Speaking of that bald menace..." I didn't get a chance to respond before she grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the door. "I just spent 20 minutes listening to him begging for me to check on you and make sure everything was okay. I told him I'd get you out of the palace for a while." She swallowed and tightened her grip on my wrist. "So let's go for a girls' day."

Now it was my turn to laugh. Despite how upset I was, I couldn't help it.

"You hate that kind of stuff."

She sighed and pulled the door open, her grip still around my wrist with me in tow. "I know."

* * *

Being "out of the palace", as Mai had put it, was doing little to take my mind off of what had happened over lunch. However, the fresh air was nice and it felt good to be spending some alone time with Mai. We strolled through a few of the Royal markets that surrounded the Palace before heading over to the arts district.

Everywhere I looked, people milled up and down the streets carrying baskets full of assorted goods – mostly wine and food. Long blue and silver banners hung over the streets, announcing in big white letters that the Full Moon Festival was only a few days away. Stages were being set up outside of coffee shops and artistries where carpenters hammered away to get the floorboards just right. Slowly, the big fire urns that usually lined the streets were being replaced with tall gaudy fountains made of white marble and full of crystal clear water.

Mai mumbled beside me, "I didn't think there'd be so many people out today."

I glanced at her and nodded, "Yeah... it's so weird that Chief Arnook is allowing Zuko to celebrate the Festival here this year...."

"Hm," Mai acknowledged as a passerby accidentally bumped against her shoulder. "It's a new world..." she stated simply as she adjusted the hood over her head that kept commoners from recognizing her as their Royal Fire Lady. "There's been a lot of changes."

I nodded absentmindedly, not really feeling the need for any further response.

It _was _different, and it _was_ weird... But it was nice. Only a few years ago, I'd never even thought it possible to walk down a Fire Nation street without being ignited. The thought of the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe coexisting was absurd! I would have never dreamed I'd not only walk down a Fire Nation street unscathed, but in the company of the Nation's Royal Fire Lady. And we'd be discussing the celebration of an age-old Water Tribe tradition being held in the Royal City of the Fire Nation Capital! I chuckled to myself at the irony, enjoying the way it felt to have a smile on my face.

Mai gave me a sideways look. "What are you so smilely about?" she asked with a playful gleam in her amber eyes. "Your mood sure has lifted."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Things are so different from what they used to be."

Mai nodded as she stopped by a collection of gems and jewelry being displayed outside an artist's shop. "You could say that again," she replied as she eyed a small red crystal in the shape of a teardrop. The gem rolled around in the palm of her hand like a bead of water as she scrutinized it.

"It's nice..." I said at length.

"What? The crystal?" she asked as she sat it back down on the table.

I giggled and picked it back up. "No! Not the crystal. I meant the changes! The changes are nice." I held the red crystal up to Mai's face, under her earlobe. "You should have them make these into earrings for you."

Mai smirked and took the crystal from my hand, "I thought the crystal wasn't nice." She laughed and set it back down on the table again. "And anyways, I have a million earrings already."

"Understandably..."

Mai continued picking through random pieces of loose jewelry – though she didn't seem to be particularly interested in any of them – and my attention wandered across the street to a tea shop, where a group of young teenagers sat in a circle around a table and a smoking pot of tea. I couldn't hear what they were discussing, but they were all smiling and looked to be friends.

One girl in bright red clothing laughed loudly and threw a piece of bread at the boy in green that sat across from her. Beside him, another boy in a dark blue tunic laughed and shoved him jokingly into the girl in blue on the other side. I smiled. All three nations were represented in their small group.

We had fought so hard to restore balance to the world and had all sacrificed so much. Weeks – no... _years_ – had been spent training and fighting and debating and resolving and planning and building. So much blood had been shed and tears cried to get us to harmony. And now, after so much pain and joy, hatred and love – after so much work! – something new was threatening everything we'd accomplished.

I sighed, my smile turning in a frown of frustration, and turned my eyes to a piece of blue quartz on the table.

I just _had _to find out who the Mangestu were. I had to find them, and I had to stop them. Which made it very difficult to be looking at jewelry...

Behind us, two guards dressed in casual street clothes kept a close watch. While I understood their necessity – it's not like you can just let the Fire Lord's wife parade around town unprotected with a bunch of serial killers on the loose – still, I found their presence unnerving at times.

"I'm thirsty," Mai responded suddenly.

I glanced up from the piece of quartz I had been looking at. "Well, there's a tea shop across the street. Go get something."

"You don't want to come?" she asked as she started heading in the direction of the red and orange sign reading Royal Dragon: Best Tea in the Royal City.

I thought about going to the tea shop and how nice it would be to sit on the patio with my friend and sip on a hot cup of tea and enjoy the afternoon. Then I thought about the people Mangetsu had already killed. And then I thought about how many more people they would kill if I didn't stop them.

I knew Mai wouldn't let me out of her sight, so I went to work on a plan.

I eyed the two burly guards, hoping they'd both go with their charge and leave me here. I shook my head casually, "No, you go ahead. I'll just wait here."

Mai narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "You sure?"

"Yeah," I replied as I pretended to be engrossed by the gem in my hand. "I'm going to talk to the owner about maybe making this into a pendant for Aang."

Mai continued to give me a scrutinizing look.

"What?" I answered defensively. "I'll be fine! I'm a big girl, remember? I can take care of myself."

"Okay," she answered at last before turning to her guards. "Wei, do you mind staying here with her?"

_No!_

"Of course, Lady," he answered quickly.

I rolled my eyes, "Mai, I'm fine-"

Mai didn't give me a chance to argue before she took off for the tea shop, Tweedle Dee right behind her – which of course left me with Tweedle Dum. I supposed after a while, you don't even notice they're there – Mai sure didn't seem to – but I valued my privacy and space too much to have every move watched like a prisoner.

I gripped the crystal in my hand, irritated that my plan had been fouled so quickly. Wei turned his brown eyes on me, his expression so blank that I wondered if his face would crack if he tried to smile. I narrowed my eyes at him and he responded by crossing his giant lumberjack arms across his chest, his face completely unmoving. I started to question if he ever even blinked.

I sighed and turned back to my crystal. It lay in my hand, fitting perfectly in the center of my palm. The edges were smooth and worn down and I traced my finger along the fine grooves around the front of it. I wondered where this gem had been. What was its story? What had caused it to end up here?

I rolled it over in my hand a few times and then put it between my index finger and thumb so that the light shown through it. Little imperfections in the quartz caught the sunlight and threw blue specs all over the table underneath it. I put my other hand under the gem to catch these light beams, admiring how the blue specs danced in my palm.

"You should buy it."

Startled, I dropped the gem and I cringed with closed eyes as I waited to hear the smashing of a million pieces of quartz as it shattered on the street.

When the shattering sound didn't happen, I opened my eyes to see a tall dark man with shaggy brown hair holding the quartz up to the sun. He must have caught it before it hit the ground.

"Hm, let's see..." he said in a smooth deep voice. He scrutinized the gem and then held it near my face. "Yes... it's definitely the same color as your eyes."

"Is that so?" I asked coolly.

The man nodded. "It's a rare color, but I'd say it's a close match." He smiled and spun the gem around in his palm before offering it back to me.

His fingers touched my palm and they were cold and moist.

"Thanks."

He smile widened and I tried not to notice how fiercely blue his eyes were with the sun shining on his tanned face. He offered his hand in a handshake, "I'm Kade."

"Um, Katara." I murmured as I accepted his handshake. My hand felt tiny in his grasp.

"Katara... Is that Southern or Northern Water Tribe?" he asked.

"Southern," I answered as he let my hand fall from his grasp. "I'm here on business."

"Oh, you're not here for the Festival?"

"Officially? No." I answered.

The man chuckled and gestured towards the busy street behind us. "Well you sure picked a great time for a business trip."

"Yeah..." I scanned the crowded street and was caught off guard when I looked back to see him staring at me. His gaze was intense and uncomfortable. Smoldering blue eyes behind dark lashes... I shifted my feet awkwardly in my shoes.

Wei, I had noticed, had halved his distance from me since the stranger had approached. As disturbed as I was by Kade's subtle intensity, I was intrigued by something I couldn't quite put my finger on. My mind was telling me to leave, but for some reason my feet refused to budge. "Are you here for the Festival?"

He nodded, his gaze finally finding something other than me and I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "You could say that."

"I take it you're from the Northern Tribe?" I asked.

"Technically, yes. My grandparents lived there and my father was born there. I grew up all over the world, really." He grabbed a large necklace that had been fashioned from sealion tusks, frowned at it, and then put it back down. "I've only been there once."

"Oh."

"Recently, I've called this part of the world my home." Kade grinned a devilish smile that sprouted goosebumps across the back of my neck. He turned to observe the festivities and then rested his gaze back on me. "The Festival really will be something this year," he commented softly.

Before I could comment, Mai was clearing her throat beside me and holding a steaming cup of tea in my face. I hadn't even noticed her approach. Startled, I took the tea and thanked her sheepishly.

"Who's your friend?"

"Mai, this is Kade," I answered quickly. "He's here for the Festival." I added on, as if this were reason enough for me to be talking to a complete stranger.

Kade smiled and I noticed it had the same effect on Mai as it did on me – though not quite as intense. She took a quick breath and accepted his handshake. "Nice to meet you, Kade."

"Pleasure is all mine."

Mai forced one her fake smiles she used when meeting dignitaries and then turned to me. "Katara... I think it's time we should be getting back. Don't you think?"

I understood her urgency, and suddenly the full awkwardness of the situation came crashing down on me. I glanced at Kade and felt guilty I had been talking with him so long, even mildly flirting. I blushed shamefully.

"Then I'll see you ladies at the Festival?"

We nodded, giving no sure answer.

"Until then...." He smiled a killer smile and winked his left eye.

A chill ran up my spine.


End file.
